Anthracene-bridged“Texas-sized”box for the simultaneous detection and uptake of tryptophan

Tryptophan(Trp)is an essential amino acid that plays a critical role in human physiology.The increasing demand for Trp has created a highly promising market,underscoring the urgent necessity for the development of efficient strategies for the simultaneous detection and uptake of tryptophan.Herein,we report an expanded“Texas-sized”molecular box(An-TxSB),which incorporates luminescent anthracene bridging subunits and molecular recognition motifs.This luminescent molecular box demonstrates exceptional sensitivity to Trp in water,permitting its precise quantification with a notably low limit of detection(LOD)of 0.42μmol/L.Moreover,An-TxSB facilitates the proficient uptake of Trp from simulated water samples,thereby revealing an impressive Trp adsorption capacity of up to 226.0μmol/g.