Atomically dispersed recognition unit for selective in vivo photoelectrochemical medicine detection

Continuous and long-term therapeutic monitoring of medicine molecules in biological systems will revolutionize healthcare by offering personalized pharmacokinetic reports. However, the extremely complex biological environment brings great challenges for in vivo molecule detection in living organisms. Here we introduce an in vivo photoelectrochemical biosensor following a reverse design strategy with single atoms as molecular recognition units. Atomic dispersion of Cu single atoms on TiO2-x substrate create synergistic anchoring triple-site for efficiently and selectively capturing of dual-carbonyl group and neighboring dual-hydroxyl group of tetracycline molecules. The photoelectrode is encapsulated with antibiofouling layer and implanted into the vein of living mouse to enable long-term in vivo monitoring of tetracycline in real biological environments. It is important to note that our approach was exclusively tested in male mice, and therefore, the findings may not be generalizable to female mice or other species without further research. The rationally designed biological-components-free in vivo biosensor with excellent selectivity, robustness, and stability endows possibility for enabling personalized medicine guidance through real-time feedbacking information and providing direct and authentic medicine molecular analysis. Continuous and long-term monitoring of medicines in biological systems could offer personalized pharmacokinetic reports but is challenging due to the complexity of the biological environment in living organisms. Here, the authors present a photoelectrochemical biosensor with single atom Cu on TiO2-x as recognition unit for selective, precise, long-term tetracycline monitoring in living organisms.