Determination and measurement of Imatinib by a fluorescence quenching sensor based on halloysite nanotubes modified by zirconium metal organic framework

HNTs with nanotubular structure and hollow cavities and large aspect ratio, are a type of natural clay minerals which are widely used. In this work, Zirconium metal organic framework (Zr-MOF), as an efficient fluorescent nanomaterial, was synthesized by a one-step solvothermal procedure using terephthalic acid as ligand. The obtained Zr-MOF was used for modifying the halloysite nanotubes (HNT). The synthesized HNT/MOF was evaluated by different characterization techniques including FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, and EDS. The HNT/MOF depicted highly fluorescent emission with a maximum fluorescence emission at 396 nm using 270 nm excitation. The function of the presented assay for imatinib (IMA) is based on “turn-off” the fluorescence signal in accordance with enhancing the analyte concentration. To obtain best function, the effect of different parameters including pH, temperature, ionic strength and time were evaluated. By using the Stern-Volmer equation and at optimal conditions, HNT/MOF offered a broad linear range of 4–165 μM along with limit of quantification and detection of 2.53 and 0.72 μM, respectively. The method was successfully applied in determining IMA concentrations in biological and environmental samples include human urine and sea water respectively with recoveries between 94.38 and 99.1%.