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Updated: Jun 1, 2026
A Novel Technique for Generating and Observing Chemiluminescence in a Biological Setting
Published on: March 9, 2017
Electrochemiluminescence of Tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium in Water at Carbon Microelectrodes
G C Fiaccabrino1, M Koudelka-Hep, Y T Hsueh
1Institute of Microtechnology, University of Neuchatel, 2007 Neuchatel, Switzerland, and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Davis, California 95616.
Abstract:
Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) in water only, without any added electrolyte or reducing agents, has been obtained at carbon interdigitated microelectrode arrays (C-IDAs) of 2 μm width and spacing. In a generation/collection biasing mode, ECL can be clearly seen with the naked eye in normal room lighting at concentrations greater than 1 mM. Using a conventional photomultiplier tube (PMT), a detection limit of 10(-)(7) M Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) has been achieved for an electrode area of 0.25 mm(2). In comparison, the ECL intensity produced at Pt-IDA of the same geometry, under identical experimental conditions, was more than 300 times less. The ECL obtained at C-IDAs is attributed to the annihilation reaction of the reduced and oxidized forms of the Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) made possible due to the small electrode spacing.
