Herein, the aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-type carboxymethyl
chitosan (CMCS)@6-aza-2-thiothymine (ATT) templated AgAu bimetallic
nanoclusters (CMCS@ATT-AgAu BMNCs) with superior electrochemiluminescence
(ECL) emission were first synthesized to construct a biosensor for
the ultrasensitive detection of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).
Impressively, unlike the traditional AIE-type bimetallic nanoclusters
(BMNCs) obtained by complicated multi-step synthesis, the AIE-type
CMCS@ATT-AgAu BMNCs were prepared by the electrostatic interaction
between the negatively charged ATT and positively charged CMCS, in
which the molecule ATT was served as a capping and reducing agent
of bimetal ions. In addition, a rapidly moving cholesterol labeled
DNA walker was constructed to move freely on the lipid bilayer to
increase its moving efficiency, and the well-regulated DNA was intelligently
designed to further improve its walking efficiency for rapid and ultrasensitive
detection of GFAP with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 73 ag/mL.
This strategy proposed an avenue to synthesize highly efficient BMNCs-based
ECL emitters, which have great potential in ultrasensitive biosensing
for early diagnosis of diseases.