The
bifunctional moderator is urgently needed in the field of ratiometric
electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensing since it can mediate simultaneously
two ECL signals to conveniently realize their opposite change trend.
This work designed a novel dual-signal combined nanoprobe with carboxyl-functionalized
poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(1,4-benzo-{2,1′,3}-thiadazole)]
nanoparticles (c-PFBT NPs) as the anodic ECL probe
and L-cysteine capped CdS quantum dots (L-CdS QDs) as the cathodic ECL probe, which performed a dual-signal
output capability without any additional coreactants. More importantly,
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) produced in situ by
enzyme-catalyzed reaction was developed as a bifunctional moderator
for simultaneously regulating two signals. The dual-signal combined
nanoprobe (c-PFBT NPs@CdS QDs) served as the matrix
to immobilize acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and choline oxidase for
organophosphorus (OPs) analysis. In the absence of OPs, H2O2 was produced by catalyzing the substrate acetylthiocholine
(ATCl) with enzymes and it quenched the anodic ECL signal from c-PFBT NPs and simultaneously promoted the cathodic ECL
signal from L-CdS QDs. When OPs was present, the
activity of AChE was inhibited, the anodic signal would increase,
and the cathodic signal would accordingly decrease. The integration
of the bifunctional moderator H2O2 and dual-signal
combined nanoprobe c-PFBT NPs@CdS QDs not only provides
an attractive ECL platform for enzymatic sensing involving the generation
or consumption of H2O2 but also paves a new
pathway for other ratiometric ECL systems involving enzyme catalytic
amplification for detecting antigens, antibodies, DNA, RNA, etc.