A disposable electrochemiluminescence device for ultrasensitive monitoring of K562 leukemia cells based on aptamers and ZnO@carbon quantum dots

We developed a new electrochemiluminescence (ECL) platform for ultrasensitive and selective detection of leukemia cells. In order to construct the platform, the nonporous gold with controllable three-dimensional porosity and good conductivity was used to modify the screen-printed carbon electrode. The carbon quantum dots (CQDs) coated ZnO nanosphere (ZnO@CQDs) were used as good ECL label with low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility. Structure characterization was obtained by means of transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images. The aptamer was used for cell capture and the concanavalin A conjugated ZnO@CQDs was used for selective recognition of the cell surface carbohydrate. The proposed method showed a good analytical performance for the detection of K562 cells ranging from 1.0×102 to 2.0×107 cells mL−1 with a detection limit of 46 cells mL−1. The as-proposed device has the advantages of high sensitivity, nice specificity and good stability and could offer great promise for sensitive detection of leukemia cells in response to therapy.