https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1567539422001724

Siobhán O’Connor, Luluh Al Hassan, Grace Brennan, Kieran McCarthy, Christophe Silien, Ning Liu, Tadhg Kennedy, Kevin Ryan, Emmet O’Reilly

Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland

Received 29 April 2022, Revised 28 July 2022, Accepted 29 July 2022, Available online 1 August 2022, Version of Record 19 August 2022.

Abstract

The development of electrochemiluminescent (ECL) luminophores with tuneable emission profiles is a key requirement in the development of multi-analyte ECL sensing platforms. This study presents the first reported use of cadmium selenide sulfide (CdSeS) quantum dots (QDs) as ECL emitters in which both the ECL emission profile and cathodic potential can be tailored by alteration of the Se/S ratio. CdSeS QDs were synthesised using an aqueous synthetic route thereby avoiding the use of organic reagents, high temperatures and inert gasses. The suitability of the CdSeS QDs to ECL sensing applications is demonstrated via the quantitative determination of TIMP-1 protein at clinically relevant concentrations. The developed cathodic ECL immunosensor exhibited a detectable linear range of 6–60 ng/mL and a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.54 ng/mL. TIMP-1 protein plays a crucial role in pregnancy, wound healing, and cancer prognosis.

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