Dual-functional COF nanotrap engineered for reactive dicarbonyl sensing and advanced glycation end-products blockade

Reactive dicarbonyl compounds (RDCs), with inherent electrophilic nature, are pervasively involved in life activities and represent potential hazards. However, their structural simplicity and trace concentrations pose formidable challenges for precise profiling. Inspired by the ubiquitous glycation process, where RDCs preferentially attack protein residues to form advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), an engineered covalent organic frameworks (COF) nanotrap was constructed to recognize and sequester RDCs. The architectural features and optical performance of the COF were tuned by modulating the steric bulk of vinyl-containing acylhydrazide monomers. Guanidine groups were grafted onto the pore walls via simple light-induced click chemistry, enabling the tailored COF nanotrap to selectively capture guest RDCs molecules. Trapped RDCs stimulated the engineered COF to generate a sensitive response, achieving a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.23 μM through attenuating non-radiative relaxation via restricted rotation of free bonds. To address practical challenges, a COF-based double-network aerogel was developed, exhibiting a high adsorption capacity for efficient RDCs scavenging and separation. As proof-of-concept verification, RDCs sequestration suppressed AGEs generation by 70.1 % in liquid food. This nanotrap strategy provides a novel method for precise sensing of target guests, while mitigating hazardous exposure by blocking cascade products formation.