The rising presence of pharmaceutical contaminants such as peptide hormones and antibiotics in aquatic environments poses significant risks to both public health and ecological balance. Among them, oxytocin-a potent neuropeptide hormone-demands particular attention due to its clinical importance and endocrine-disrupting potential. Herein, we report the design and development of a multifunctional zinc-based metal-organic framework (Zinc-MOF) synthesized from zinc perchlorate hexahydrate and tris(2-carboxyethyl) isocyanurate (H3TCi), as an organic linkers, engineered for dual applications: selective fluorescence-based detection of oxytocin (OXN) and visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants (OXN). The Zinc-MOF exhibited high quenching sensitivity and remarkable anti-interference capability, selectively detecting OXN even in the presence of structurally diverse antibiotics. Parallel photocatalytic studies demonstrated superior degradation efficiency toward OXN compared to a broad panel of eight commonly used antibiotics, highlighting the framework's robust catalytic activity and substrate specificity. The deliberate inclusion of both hormone and antibiotic analytes reflects real-world wastewater complexity and underscores the versatility of this MOF platform. These findings position the Zinc-MOF as a promising dual-function material for integrated biosensing and environmental remediation of trace-level pharmaceutical residues.
Shukla et al. (Sun,) studied this question.