Tetracycline Generated Red Luminescence Based on a Novel Lanthanide Functionalized Layered Double Hydroxide Nanoplatform

Considerable interest in using lanthanide complexes in optics have been well-known persisted for a long time. But such molecular-based edifices have been excluded from practical application because of their poor thermal or photo stabilities. Here a novel europium embedded layered double hydroxide (Mg–Al LDH–Eu) has been established and such an inorganic–organic framework demonstrates improved thermal performance due to hydrolysis and poly condensation of the trimethoxysilyl-unit. In addition, the incorporation of a functional building block such as ethylenediamine triacetic acid can significantly minimize the negative effects of hydroxyl groups. In the presence of tetracycline (Tc), the nanoprobe exhibits an “off–on” change in aqueous solution, and the red luminescence can be excited in the visible light range (405 nm). It provides a very sensitive signal response to Tc with an excellent linear relation in the range of 0.1 μM to 5.0 μM, and the detection limit of this probe is measured to be 7.6 nM. This nanoplatform exhibits low cytotoxicity during in vitro experiments and can be employed for the detection of tetracycline in 293T cells.