Aggregation-induced emission-based covalent-organic framework fluorescent probes for clinical detection of aluminum and daily prevention of Alzheimerʼs disease by naked-eye

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and a major threat to human health worldwide. The association between aluminum exposure and AD has been widely reported. Owing to the ubiquitous presence of aluminum in daily life, aluminum exposure can easily occur whenever and wherever possible. Thus, a rapid and sensitive reagent for detecting aluminum and assist in AD daily prevention for potential AD patient population is extremely needed. However, existing aluminum detection methods rely on precise instruments, which are impractical for household use. Herein, a series of aggregation-induced emission-based covalent-organic framework (AIE-COF) fluorescent probes has been designed with progressively tuned sizes and screened for aluminum detection. Among them, COF-N2 was found to have the highest response towards aluminum specifically, with a fluorescence intensity change of 19.14 times before and after chelation, which could determine the aluminum concentration by naked eye. Then, the molecular mechanism of COF-N2 fluorescence changes was explained and COF-N2 was used for both diagnose the aluminum distribution in various organs of APP/PS1 transgenic mice and quickly determine the aluminum content in daily necessities. The use of AIE-COF probes for aluminum detection provides a promising avenue for developing aluminum related AD clinical diagnosis and daily prevention tools.