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An electrochemiluminescence biosensor based on boron nitride quantum dots as novel coreactant for quantitative determination of concanavalin A

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Abstract

An electrochemiluminescence (ECL) analytical platform is constructed based on boron nitride quantum dots (BNQDs) as a novel coreactant of luminol for quantitative assay of concanavalin A (Con A). Different from previous research that mainly focuses on its superior optical properties, BNQDs are used for the first time as a coreactant for boosting ECL intensity of luminol, which has a 10-fold enhancement compared with individual poly(luminol/aniline) nanorods loaded on reduced graphene oxide (PLA-rGO) using GCE. On the basis that BNQDs contain an abundance of active amino, a possible mechanism of amino oxidation facilitating ECL emission is proposed. Firstly, luminol as light spices are oxidized to luminol•− and BNQDs generate an abundance of BNQDs-NH+• via electrochemical oxidization, producing reductive intermediates BNQDs-N• in alkaline conditions. Finally, BNQDs-N• react with luminol•− to obtain the excited species AP2−*, returning to ground state and emitting light. Due to the hindrance effect of Con A, the ECL intensity decreases gradually as various concentrations of Con A are modifying the electrode surface. Therefore, a sensitive ECL biosensor for detecting Con A is constructed exhibiting a wide linear range of 1.0 pg·mL−1 to 1.0 μg·mL−1 and a low detection limit of 0.15 pg·mL−1.

Schematic representation of an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor based on boron nitride quantum dots (BNQDs) as an efficient coreactant of reduced graphene oxide functionalized poly(luminol/aniline) (PLA-rGO) for quantitative assay of concanavalin A (Con A).

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely acknowledge the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61503309).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Caixia Wang, Mengsi Li & Peijin Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, No.174, Shapingba Main Street, Chongqing, 400030, China

    Defang Liu

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  1. Caixia Wang
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  2. Mengsi Li
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  4. Defang Liu
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Correspondence to Defang Liu.

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Wang, C., Li, M., Wang, P. et al. An electrochemiluminescence biosensor based on boron nitride quantum dots as novel coreactant for quantitative determination of concanavalin A. Microchim Acta 187, 409 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-020-04385-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-020-04385-6

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