Boric-acid-modified Fe3O4@PDA@UiO-66 for enrichment and detection of glucose by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Herein, boric-acid-modified multifunctional Zr-based metal-organic frameworks (denoted as Fe3O4@PDA@B-UiO-66) were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction and surface modification. Compared to traditional matrix, Fe3O4@PDA@B-UiO-66 has the advantages of high ionization efficiency, high surface area, low matrix background, porous structure, and numerous boric-acid-active sites. By combining matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), Fe3O4@PDA@B-UiO-66 was used as an adsorbent and matrix for enrichment and detection of glucose, based on a specific reaction between boric acid and glucose. The limit of detection was 58.5 nM. The proposed method provides a simple and efficient approach for the sensitive and quantitative detection of glucose in complex samples based on MALDI-TOF MS.