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Single-Atom Iron Enables Strong Low-Triggering-Potential Luminol Cathodic Electrochemiluminescence
Wenling Gu1, Xiaosi Wang1, Mengzhen Xi1
1Key Laboratory of Pesticide and Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China.
Analytical Chemistry
|June 23, 2022
Summary
Iron single-atom catalysts (Fe-N-C SACs) enable efficient cathodic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) at ultralow potentials. This approach enhances bioactivity preservation and improves detection sensitivity and specificity in biosensing applications.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
- Biosensing
Background:
- Conventional cathodic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) requires highly negative potentials, risking target bioactivity damage and reducing sensitivity.
- Existing methods often involve complex electrochemical oxidation steps for luminol activation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel cathodic ECL system utilizing iron single-atom catalysts (Fe-N-C SACs) for enhanced performance.
- To achieve efficient luminol-H2O2 ECL emission at ultralow potentials, preserving bioactivity.
Main Methods:
- Employing Fe-N-C SACs as co-reaction accelerators in a luminol-H2O2 ECL system.
- Investigating the activation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by Fe-N-C SACs to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS).
- Utilizing glucose oxidase-mediated ECL immunoassay for carcinoembryonic antigen detection.
Main Results:
- Fe-N-C SACs efficiently activated H2O2 to produce ROS under negative potentials (0 to -0.2 V).
- ROS facilitated the oxidation of luminol anions, enabling direct reaction for strong ECL emission.
- Sensitive detection of carcinoembryonic antigen was achieved, demonstrating the system's efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Fe-N-C SACs offer a superior strategy for constructing low-potential cathodic ECL systems.
- This method preserves target bioactivity and enhances sensitivity and specificity in biosensing.
- The study highlights the potential of single-atom catalysts in advanced ECL applications.
