Highly selective recognition of adenosine 5′-triphosphate against other nucleosides triphosphate with a luminescent metal-organic framework of [Zn(BDC)(H2O)2]n (BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate)

Selective recognition of adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) is of great significance owing to its indispensable functions to organisms. Also, it is a challenging task because other nucleosides triphosphate hold the same triphosphate group and structurally planar bases as ATP. It is known that metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a new type of sensing material. In this work, highly selective recognition of ATP against other nucleosides triphosphate is successfully achieved with a luminescent MOF of [Zn(BDC)(H2O)2]n (BDC2− = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate). [Zn(BDC)(H2O)2]n dispersed in water shows a remarkable redshift of the emission wavelength upon addition of ATP, while cytidine 5′-triphosphate (CTP), uridine 5′-triphosphate (UTP), and guanosine 5′-triphosphate (GTP), as well as some inorganic anions such as P2O74− or PO43− can’t induce such spectral change as ATP. 1H NMR, 31P NMR and Raman spectra indicate that both π-π stacking interactions and the coordination of Zn(II) with adenine and the phosphate group are involved in the interaction of [Zn(BDC)(H2O)2]n with ATP. In addition, the experimental results showed that the redshift extent of the emission wavelength of [Zn(BDC)(H2O)2]n has the linear relationship with the concentration of ATP in the range of 0.3–1.8 mmol/L. Based on this, the detection of ATP content in the sample of ATP injection was made with satisfactory results. This system pioneers the application of MOFs in the recognition of nucleotides, and testifies that the participation of base in the recognition process can improve the selectivity against the other nucleotides.