Study on the chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer between luminol and fluorescent dyes using a linear CCD spectrometer

Chemiluminescence (CL) has been a useful tool for analytical applications. Fluorescein can be used to enhance CL emission of luminol. With three-dimensional (3D) dynamic CL spectrum obtained from a linear CCD (charge-coupled device) flow-injection CL spectrometer, the fluorescein enhanced CL analysis was studied. The enhanced process can be described with chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) at certain fluorescein concentrations. In the process of CRET, fluorescein enlarges CL intensity but does not join the CL reaction. Compared with classic luminol-Co2+ CL system, the fluorescein-enhanced system exhibits stronger CL signal with the linear range and detection limit for traces of Co2+ unchanged.