Electrogenerated chemiluminescence of magnesium chlorophyllin a aqueous solution and its sensitive response to the carcinogen aflatoxin B1

• Highly efficient and stable ECL signal from Chlorins a was obtained.
• A radical ion annihilation mechanism was established.
• The ECL signal of Chlorins a exhibited fast, sensitive and selective response to the carcinogen AFB1.
• The limit of detection for AFB1 was 0.027 ppb.
• The present ECL method was successfully applied in the determination of AFB1 in real sample.

The chlorophylls, crucial participants of photosynthesis, are large conjugated molecules with special electron donor–acceptor properties. Based on this, many investigations on the electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of chlorophyll a (Chl a) were performed in organic solvents, but no efficient signals were detected. Herein, ECL research of magnesium chlorophyllins a (Chlorins a) from simple saponification of the natural Chl a was carried out, and highly efficient and stable ECL signal was obtained for the first time. The mechanism study indicated that the ECL resulted from radical ion annihilation. Under the optimal conditions, the effect of the key gas O2 on the ECL of Chlorins a aqueous solution was investigated, and the recoverable inhibition of O2 was obviously observed. What is more, owing to the strong non-covalent interaction between Chlorins a and the carcinogen aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ECL intensity of Chlorins a aqueous solution exhibited fast, sensitive and selective response to AFB1 with a low detection limit of 0.027 ppb at the signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The costless and environmentally friendly ECL method opens a new potential way of the rapid detection of AFB1 in practical application.

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