Postsynthetic modification of metal-organic framework for hydrogen sulfide detection

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has recently been identified as the third biological gaseous messenger (gasotransmitter) that is involved in regulating many important physiological processes. The detection of H2S is thus essential for its roles but remain challenging in living systems. We report herein a novel turn-on fluorescent probe for H2S detection based on azide functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF). The MOF probe displayed high sensitivity (detection limit, 28.3 mu M), excellent selectivity, and fast response (<2 min) toward H2S over other biologically relevant species. We envisage that this MOF probe can be employed as a useful tool to further elucidate the biological roles of H2S. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.