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Updated: Apr 4, 2026
A Novel Technique for Generating and Observing Chemiluminescence in a Biological Setting
Published on: March 9, 2017
Electrogenerated chemiluminescence of tris(2,2' bipyridine)ruthenium(II) using common biological buffers as
Noah Kebede1, Paul S Francis, Gregory J Barbante
1Department of Chemistry and Physics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia. C.Hogan@latrobe.edu.au.
Abstract:
A series of aliphatic tertiary amines (HEPES, POPSO, EPPS and BIS-TRIS) commonly used to buffer the pH in biological experiments, were examined as alternative, non-toxic co-reactants for the electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(ii) ([Ru(bpy)3](2+)). These were found to be very attractive as "multi-tasking" reagents, serving not only as co-reactants, but also fulfiling the roles of pH buffer and supporting electrolyte within an aqueous environment; thus significantly simplifying the overall ECL analysis. Sub-nanomolar detection limits were obtained for [Ru(bpy)3](2+) in the presence of BIS-TRIS, making this species an valuable option for co-reactant ECL-based bioanalytical applications.
