Luminescence Nucleotide/Eu3+ Coordination Polymer Based on the Inclusion of Tetracycline

The metal–organic coordination polymer has emerged as a new family of functional nanomaterials. In this work, we prepared a luminescence coordination polymer based on spontaneous self-assembling of nucleotide (AMP) and Eu3+ ions in aqueous solution. After antenna ligand tetracycline (Tc) was introduced to the coordination polymer (AMP/Eu), a strong europium luminescence was observed due to the intramolecular energy transfer from tetracycline to Eu3+. Because of the hydrophobic environment of the polymer interior, the luminescence intensity of AMP/Eu incorporated tetracycline (AMP/Eu–Tc) was 30 times higher than that of AMP/Eu in a solution containing the same amount of tetracycline. AMP/Eu–Tc displays a long emission lifetime, excellent dispersion, and stability in aqueous solution. The coordination polymers based on antenna ligands possess great potential in the applications of ultrasensitive time-resolved fluorometric assays and biological imaging.