Spectral-interference-minimal MAFs@AuNPs-mediated dual-readout lateral flow immunoassay for clenbuterol ultrasensitive detection

s The illicit use of clenbuterol (CLB) in livestock farming poses significant public health risks, necessitating sensitive and reliable detection methods. Conventional gold nanoparticle-based lateral flow immunoassays (AuNPs-LFIAs) are often hampered by limited sensitivity and a narrow dynamic range. Here, we developed a dual-readout nanohybrid probe via an electrostatic integration of AuNPs into metal-AIEgen frameworks (MAFs). The intrinsic fluorescence of MAFs (excitation≈350 nm, emission≈475 nm) exhibits minimal spectral overlap with AuNP absorption (≈520 nm), thereby retaining 78.6% of the MAF's quantum yield while achieving a 2-fold enhancement in colorimetric absorbance. The resulting probe integrates bright fluorescence and intense colorimetric signal into a robust LFIA strip. For CLB detection, the constructed dual-readout LFIA achieved an ultra-wide linear range (0.01–3.90 ng/mL) and a significantly improved detection limit (0.007 ng/mL), demonstrating a 41-fold wider linear range compared to conventional AuNPs-LFIA. The method demonstrated satisfactory recovery rates (87.5–108.3%) in spiked swine urine and pork samples, and showed high consistency with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry results when applied to real samples. This work presents a generalizable design principle for spectral-interference-minimal dual-readout probes, advancing LFIA technology with high sensitivity, an ultrabroad dynamic range, and reliable performance for on-site “farm-to-table” monitoring.