Nanoscale fluorescent metal-organic framework composites as a logic platform for potential diagnosis of asthma.

Asthma is a common chronic disorder, and the decreased hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production in the lung has been considered as an early detection biomarker for asthma. However, the detection of H2S in biological systems remains a challenge; because it requires the designed sensors to have the following features: nanoscale size, good biocompatibility, real-time detection, high selectivity/sensitivity, and good water stability. Here, we propose the potential of using nanoscale fluorescent metal-organic framework (MOF) composites Eu3+/Ag+@UiO-66-(COOH)2 (hereafter denoted as EAUC) as a logic platform for tentative diagnosis of asthma by detecting the biomarker H2S. This INHIBIT logic gate based on Eu3+@UiO-66-(COOH)2 (EUC) can be produced by choosing Ag+ and H2S as inputs and by monitoring the fluorescent signal (I615) as an output. Our fluorescent studies indicate that the EAUC exhibits excellent selectivity, extreme sensitivity (limit of detection: 23.53 μM), and real-time in situ detection of H2S. Further, MTT analysis in PC12 cells shows that the EAUC possesses low cytotoxicity and favourable biocompatibility that are suitable for the detection of biomarker H2S in vivo, as demonstrated by the successful detection of spiked H2S in the diluted serum samples. This work represents the possibility of using MOF-based logic platform for tentative diagnosis of asthma in clinical medicine.