Biomimetic Interfacial Electron-Induced Electrochemiluminesence

Abstract

We provide here, for the first time, a new interfacial electron-induced electrochemiluminescence (IEIECL) system, realizing bionic construction of bioluminescence (BL) by exploiting electrochemiluminescence (ECL) and ITIES (the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions). Significantly, the superiority of the IEIECL system is embodied with the solution of the two bottlenecks encountered in the conventional ECL innovation: that are (a) the applications of hydrophobic luminophores in more commonly used aqueous solution are inhibited tremendously due to the poor inherent solubility and the instability of radicals and (b) the analytes, insoluble in water, are hard to be discovered in an aqueous system because of too little content. More productive IEIECL radiation, analogous to BL, originates from the triplet excited state porphyrin in comparison to the homogeneous ECL. The mechanism of IEIECL, as well as the interaction mechanism between IEIECL and charge transfer (comprising electron transfer (ET), ion transfer (IT), and facilitated ion transfer (FIT)) at the ITIES, are explored in detail. Finally, we emphasize the actual application potential of the IEIECL system with the detection of cytochrome c (Cyt c); it is a key biomolecule in the electron transport chain in the process of biological oxidation and is also an intermediate species in apoptosis. Potentially, the IEIECL system permits ones to explore the lifetime and diffusion path of free radicals, as well as imparting a possibility for the construction of a bionic sensor.