Title: Bifunctional CNDs to enhance electrochemiluminescence for the sensitive detection of analytes of clinical and environmental interest
Abstract:
Nitrogen-rich carbon nanodots (CD) have been synthesized with two functions: to provide functional groups for covalent immobilization of antibodies and to act as co-reactants in the electrochemiluminescent process.
CD have been synthetized by a carbonization method microwave-assisted using biocompatible precursors carefully sellected, such as D-fructose and urea as N-donor reagent to obtain peripheral enriched nitrogen CD, among others. The synthetized nanomaterials have been characterized by different techniques, that confirm the presence of size-regular amorphous structures with blue fluorescence when are irradiated with UV light.
The carbon nanodots designed contain amine groups (N-CD) that can be electrografted onto carbon electrodes and, thus, easily covalently immobilized on these conductive surfaces, confirming the presence of aromatic amines. The highly stable immobilization of N-CD onto the electrode surfaces by electrografting provides hybrid electrodes with greater relative surface area and improved electron transfer properties. Figure 1 shows the strategy used to obtain the hybrid-carbon electrodes.
N-CD immobilized on carbon electrodes efficiently amplifies the electrochemiluminescence signal (ECL), which has allowed the development of a novel ECL biosensors for the sensitive detection of analytes of clinical [1, 2] and environmental interest [3], which contains an aliphatic amine that gives it co-reactant properties [4].
