Recent progress in electrochemiluminescence microscopy analysis of single cells

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Cell Biology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is a sensitive analytical technique.
• ECL microscopy (ECLM) visualizes local electrochemical features with high spatial and temporal resolution.
• ECLM is crucial for single-cell studies due to cellular heterogeneity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in single-cell ECLM.
• To classify ECLM works based on different electrochemiluminescence routes.
• To provide insights into selecting optimal ECL routes for studying single-cell processes.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on single-cell ECLM.
• Classification of ECLM techniques by electrochemiluminescence routes.
• Analysis of ECLM's advantages over other single-cell imaging methods.

Main Results:

• ECLM offers advantages like low optical background, high sensitivity, and simple instrumentation.
• Different ECL routes impact ECLM features such as emitter brightness and emitting layer thickness.
• Recent ECLM progress highlights its importance in studying cell morphology and function.

Conclusions:

• ECLM is a powerful tool for investigating local electrochemical phenomena in single cells.
• Understanding ECL routes is key to optimizing ECLM for diverse single-cell applications.
• Future ECLM development holds promise for advancing electrochemical analysis in cell biology.