A multicolor-switchable fluorescent lanthanide MOFs triggered by anti-cancer drugs: multifunctional platform for anti-cancer drug sensing and information anticounterfeiting

Abstract

Lanthanide metal organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs) as excellent fluorescent materials have shown enormous potential applications, especially in fluorescence sensing and anticounterfeiting. However, very few examples of Ln-MOFs can realize both fluorescence sensing and anticounterfeiting simultaneously based on the same fluorescence response mechanism. Herein, a multifunctional platform constructed by a multicolour-switchable fluorescent Ln-MOFs (isostructural Eu-MOFs and Tb-MOFs) triggered by anti-cancer drugs (6-MP and 6-TG) were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The multifunctional platform is composed of a sensing platform for detecting anti-cancer drugs and an anticounterfeiting platform for information on encryption and decryption. The sensing platform based on Eu-MOFs exhibits great selectivity, high sensitivity, and low detection limit toward anti-cancer drugs (6-MP and 6-TG) with the assistance of sensing intermedium (Cu²⁺). On the other hand, multiple and switchable fluorescent colours (purple–red–blue/cyan–green–blue) triggered by Cu²⁺ and 6-MP/6-TG make the prepared Ln-MOFs inks good luminescent materials to build an anticounterfeiting platform with high-level security. This work illustrates the inspiring and promising applications of luminescent Ln-MOFs in anti-drug sensing and information of anticounterfeiting for the first time and will open the possibility of the design of Ln-MOFs with tuneable and multiple luminescence as a multifunctional optical platform.