pH-Regulated H₄TCPE@Eu/AMP ICP Sensor Array and Its Fingerprinting on Test Papers: Toward Point-of-Use Systematic Analysis of Environmental Antibiotics

In this work, 1,1,2,2-tetra(4-carboxylphenyl)ethylene (H₄TCPE) was selected as the guest and incorporated into a Eu/AMP ICP host to establish a “lab-on-an-AIE@Ln/ICP” sensor array for identifying and sensing environmental antibiotics simultaneously. First, on the basis of a theoretical study of the antenna effect and reductive photoinduced charge transfer between the as-prepared H₄TCPE@Eu/AMP ICPs and antibiotics, respectively, the response from the sensitized time-resolved fluorescence of the host and the unique aggregation-induced emission (AIE) of the guest were selected as the main sensing elements for the sensor array. With the regulation of pH, the diverse fluorescence responses for antibiotics with either structural differences (flumequine, oxytetracycline, and sulfadiazine) or structural similarities (oxytetracycline, tetracycline, and doxycycline) were recorded and processed by principal component analysis; systematic analysis of environmental antibiotics was therefore realized. Encouraged by the superior anti-aggregation-caused quenching effect of H₄TCPE@Eu/AMP ICPs on the test strip, the distinct fluorescence color changes of the “lab-on-an-AIE@Ln/ICP” sensor array were further explored with the aid of smartphones. The fingerprinting pattern of the sensor array on test paper eventually holds great potential for the point-of-use systematic analysis of environmental antibiotics even in complicated real samples.