Beta-Cyclodextrin-Modified Covalent Organic Framework Nanochannel for Electrochemical Chiral Recognition of Amino Acids

The chiral recognition and separation of enantiomers are of great importance for biological research and the pharmaceutical industry. Preparing homochiral materials with adjustable size and chiral binding sites is beneficial for achieving an efficient chiral recognition performance. Here, a homochiral covalent organic framework membrane modified with beta-cyclodextrin (CD-COF) was constructed, which was subsequently utilized as an electrochemical sensor for the enantioselective sensing of tryptophan (Trp) molecules. The preferential adsorption of l-Trp over d-Trp at the beta-CD sites can enhance the surface charge density and hydrophilicity of the CD-COF membrane, resulting in an increased transmembrane ionic current. Trp enantiomers with concentrations down to 0.28 nM can be effectively discriminated. The l-/d-Trp recognition selectivity increases with the Trp concentration and reaches a value of 19.2 at 1 mM. The selective adsorption of l-Trp to the CD-COF membrane will also hinder its transport, resulting in a l-/d-Trp permeation selectivity of 15.3. This study offers a new strategy to construct homochiral porous membranes and achieve efficient chiral sensing and separation.