In
this work, Cu nanoclusters (Cu NCs) with strong aggregation-induced
electrochemiluminescence (AIECL) as emitters were used to construct
an ECL biosensor for ultrasensitive detection of microRNA-141 (miR-141).
Impressively, the ECL signals enhanced with the increased content
of Cu(I) in the aggregative Cu NCs. When the ratio of Cu(I)/Cu(0)
in aggregative Cu NCs was 3.2, Cu NCs aggregates showed the highest
ECL intensity, in which Cu(I) could enhance the cuprophilic Cu(I)···Cu(I)
interaction to form rod-shaped aggregates for restricting nonradiative
transitions to obviously improve the ECL response. As a result, the
ECL intensity of the aggregative Cu NCs was 3.5 times higher than
that of the monodispersed Cu NCs. With the aid of the cascade strand
displacement amplification (SDA) strategy, an outstanding ECL biosensor
was developed to achieve the ultrasensitive detection of miR-141,
whose linear range varied from 10 aM to 1 nM with a detection limit
of 1.2 aM. This approach opened an avenue to prepare non-noble metal
nanomaterials as robust ECL emitters and provided a new idea for detection
of biomolecules for diagnosis of disease.
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