A novel electrochemiluminescence sensor based on Ru(bpy)32+/N-doped carbon nanodots system for the detection of bisphenol A

• A novel N-doped carbon nanodots (N–C dots)-enhanced anodic ECL of Ru(bpy)32+ system was firstly developed.
• Based on electron transfer from Ru(bpy)32+* to BPA oxidation product, sensitive and selective analysis of BPA was achieved.
• The proposed method was successfully to detect BPA in baby bottle and nipple, indicating its potential prospect.

A novel Ru(bpy)32+-based electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensing platform, using N-doped carbon nanodots (N–C dots) as co-reactant, was established for the sensitive and selective detection of bisphenol A (BPA). N–C dots not only could enhance the ECL signal, but also significantly improved the reproducibility and stability of Ru(bpy)32+ ECL system. The developed ECL sensing system was sensitive to detect BPA based on its efficient quenching effect on Ru(bpy)32+/N−C dots. The N–C dots-enhanced ECL mechanism and BPA-quenched ECL mechanism were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the inhibited ECL intensity was in good linear relationship versus the concentration of BPA in the range of 0.03–1.0 μM with the detection limit of 10 nM. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for 25 successive measurements with one sensor was 1.1% and for eight different sensors was 2.5%, respectively. The fabricated sensing platform was successfully applied for the detection of BPA in baby bottle and nipple, and relatively satisfactory recoveries were obtained.

A novel N-doped carbon nanodots-enhanced anodic ECL of Ru(bpy)32+ system was firstly developed for sensitive and selective detection of bisphenol A.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide