Electrochemiluminescence determination of 2',6'-difluorophenyl 10-methylacridan-9-carboxylate

Electrochemical oxidation of the acridan 2',6'-difluorophenyl 10-methylacridan-9-carboxylate produces the corresponding acridinium ester, which reacts with hydrogen peroxide forming a dioxetanone intermediate. Decomposition of the dioxetanone generates light at 430 nm when it relaxes to the ground state. The effect of pH and hydrogen peroxide concentration on this ECL reaction and on the stability of the acridan were investigated. At pH 8.0 and a hydrogen peroxide concentration of 10 mM, light emission from the ECL reaction was used to determine the acridan concentration with a detection limit of 54 pmol L(-1). Results suggest that acridan esters could be used as labels in ECL immunoassays and nucleotide assays.