Highly sensitive luminescent lanthanide metal-organic framework sensor for L-kynurenine

Abstract L-kynurenine (L-kyn) is a marker of prostate cancer. At present, the expensive instruments are usually applied to detect L-kyn in clinical, which limits its wide application for cancer diagnosis. Herein, three lanthanide metal-organic frameworks ([Ln(CHO2)3]n, Ln = Eu, Gd, and Tb) were designed and obtained, and detailly characterized. Further study reveals that [Tb(CHO2)3]n is a highly selective, ultra-sensitive, strong anti-interference, highly stable, and non-expensive sensor for prostate cancer marker L-kyn. The LOD for L-kyn sensing is a highly sensitive value of 1.0×10–9 mol/L. Furthermore, the sensing mechanism is discussed in detail.