A covalent triazine framework as an oxidase mimetic in the luminol chemiluminescence system: application to the determination of the antioxidant rutin.

It is found that a covalent triazine framework (CTF-1) (that was prepared from 1,4-dicyanobenzene) exhibits oxidase-like activity toward the oxidation of luminol with dissolved oxygen in alkaline condition to produce intense blue chemiluminescence (CL). The reaction follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics and shows strong specificity for luminol. Reactive oxygen species including 1O2, •OH and O2•- are testified to be involved in the reaction and responsible for the CL. The reaction was applied to the determination of the radical-scavenging activity of antioxidants, with rutin, kaempferol and ferulic acid serving as model scavengers. A sensitive CL method was developed for the determination of rutin based on its inhibitory effect on the reaction. The CL system gave a linear response to the concentration of rutin in the range of 0.03-0.25 μmol·L-1 with a limit of detection of 0.015 μmol·L-1. The practicability of the method was demonstrated by successful determination of rutin in tablets and in Flos Sophorae Immaturus. Graphical Abstract.