Fluorescence Emission Behaviors of the L-Cysteine/Au(I) Complex in a Cyclodextrin-Based Metal-Organic Framework

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules are nonemissive in dilute solution but emit intensely upon aggregation in complete contrast to aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) molecules. The emission of ACQ molecules, such as fluorescein, that have been encapsulated into the hydrophilic nanopores in a cyclodextrin-based metal-organic framework (CD-MOF) was reported to be enhanced due to the disappearance of concentration quenching and the restriction of thermal motion. However, the contribution of the restriction of thermal motion in CD-MOF could not be elucidated. In this study, an AIE-active L-cysteine/Au(I) (L-Cys/Au(I)) complex was synthesized and introduced into the nanopores of CD-MOF via a co-crystallization method. We determined the amount and chemical composition of the L-Cys/Au(I) complex in CD-MOF. The fluorescence intensity of the L-Cys/Au(I)@CD-MOF composite was investigated. The L-Cys/Au(I) complex that was synthesized from Au(III) chloride and L-cysteine was found to be a linear oligomer consisting of Cys(5)Au(4). For the L-Cys/Au(I)@CD-MOF composite with a L-Cys/Au(I) complex of 0.45 per hydrophilic nanopore, the total fluorescence intensity of the isolated L-Cys/Au(I) complex in CD-MOF exceeded that of the L-Cys/Au(I) complex in the solid-state due to the restriction of the thermal motion without the aggregation of the complex.