Issue 27, 2025, Issue in Progress

Design of a Zn-based porphyrin MOF biosensor for fluorometric detection of HER2 as a breast cancer biomarker

Abstract

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a critical biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. In this study, we report the synthesis and characterization of a novel zinc-based metal–organic framework (Zn-MOF) biosensor designed for sensitive and selective fluorometric detection of HER2. The Zn-MOF was synthesized via a solvothermal method using a suitable organic ligand to promote fluorescence properties. The synthesized Zn-MOF was characterized using various techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy, confirming its structure, morphology, and photoluminescent properties. The Zn-MOF exhibited high binding affinity towards HER2, which resulted in a measurable fluorescence quenching directly correlated with HER2 concentration. This Zn-MOF-based biosensor demonstrated excellent sensitivity, with a detection limit of 1.38 pM and good specificity, showing minimal interference from other proteins commonly found in human serum. These results indicate the potential of Zn-MOFs as effective platforms for the development of biosensors for cancer biomarker detection, paving the way for their application in early cancer diagnostics and personalized medicine.

Graphical abstract: Design of a Zn-based porphyrin MOF biosensor for fluorometric detection of HER2 as a breast cancer biomarker

Supplementary files

Transparent peer review

To support increased transparency, we offer authors the option to publish the peer review history alongside their article.

View this article’s peer review history

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Mar 2025
Accepted
03 Jun 2025
First published
24 Jun 2025
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2025,15, 21479-21492

Design of a Zn-based porphyrin MOF biosensor for fluorometric detection of HER2 as a breast cancer biomarker

M. R. Ibrahim, S. Alneyadi, K. Truong, H. E. Maghraby, M. Abdellah, A. M. El-Zohry, S. Wuttke and Y. Greish, RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 21479 DOI: 10.1039/D5RA01942G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements