Surface Patterning Enhanced Visualization for Ultrasensitive Naked-Eye Detection and RGB-Based High-Density Information Storage

The emerging visualization techniques have aroused wide interest for optical information detection and storage. However, they suffer from fairly limited optical information density and poor visual detection performance. Herein, an innovative surface patterning enhanced visualization (SPEV) approach is developed for ultrasensitive naked-eye detection and RGB-based high-density information storage. Through “ship covalently linked in bottle” method, a novel HP-UiO-66-NH 2 -based ratiometric fluorescent (RF) composite probe is fabricated, exhibiting remarkably enhanced CdTe QDs encapsulation efficiency and superior dual-sensing performance for F − and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Then, the novel surface patterned CdTe QDs@HP-UiO-66-NH 2 hydrogel sensor is prepared, emitting multi-stimuli-responsive optical information with significantly improved abundance and dimensionality. The pseudo-color postprocessing of the fluorescence images is performed to convert the analyte-induced imperceptible color variations into easily perceptible color tonality change, resulting in ultra-high sensitivity and excellent accuracy for naked-eye quantitative detection of ALP and F − in human serum. Furthermore, the highly accurate pattern block-based RGB (PB-RGB) assay is demonstrated and the concept of RGB-based 3D patterning codes is presented for highly reliable extraction of quantitative color information and high-density information storage. The SPEV technique provides a universal route to realize instrument-free precise visual quantitative detection, high-density optical information storage, multi-stimuli-responsive encryption, and anti-counterfeiting.