Rapid visual detection of tobacco mosaic virus with a field-deployable MIL-101(Fe)-molecularly imprinted colorimetric...

Efficient detection of plant viruses is an important link to ensure the safe production of crops. This research adopts MIL-101(Fe) metal organic framework materials as a molecularly imprinted matrix and tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as a template molecule, successfully developing a visualized detection sensor with high selectivity. The sensor leverages three key mechanisms: (1) the porous structure of MIL-101(Fe) provides abundant binding sites, (2) framework Fe³⁺ ions coordinate with TMV capsid proteins for stable template fixation, and (3) zinc acrylate (Zn²⁺) introduces bimetallic synergy with Fe³⁺, enhancing recognition specificity. Experimental results show that the sensitivity of the sensor system for TMV detection reaches 13.2 fM, and it only takes 18 min to complete the detection by naked eye. Compared with traditional detection methods, this technology gets rid of the reliance on high-cost biometric components (such as antibodies, nucleic acid probes), and the cost of a single detection is controlled at about 0.08 yuan. This simple and economical detection scheme provides a new technical means for monitoring plant viruses in the field and is of great significance for the prevention and control of crop diseases.