A signal amplification strategy for ultrasensitive detecting H2PO4− using metal coordinated supramolecular gel

The selective and ultrasensitive detection of H2PO4−, critical component of biomolecules and key substrates for many biochemical reactions, is extremely important. Herein, a signal amplification strategy was successfully used by introducing metal ions into pillar[5]arene-based supramolecular gel (TB). Accordingly, the in-suit generated non-fluorescent metal coordinated supramolecular gel (TB-Fe) could serve as a fluorescence “turn-on” sensor to detect H2PO4− selectively and ultrasensitively, and the limit of detection (LOD) of TB-Fe for H2PO4− was calculated to be 2.82 nM.