Electrochemiluminescence for high-performance Chiral recognition of enantiomers: Recent advances and future perspectives

Chirality is a special phenomenon exhibited by two compounds with non-superimposing mirror images of each other. Chiral enantiomers have the same composition and similar structures, but usually exhibit different physiological behaviors or different pharmacological activities. Therefore, the identification of chiral enantiomers has always been the major topics in the field of asymmetric chemistry and biology. However, traditional chiral recognition methods (such as chromatography) have many disadvantages of complicated operation and high cost. Electrochemiluminescence (ECL), as a classic electrochemical test method, has the advantages of simple operation, high sensitivity, real-time detection, and no background interference, which has a great application prospect in chiral recognition compared with traditional methods. Unfortunately, few researchers have systematically sorted out the field of electrochemiluminescence chiral recognition. In order to provide some help for researchers in different industries to quickly and systematically understand electrochemiluminescence chiral recognition, and better guide researchers in related fields to conduct more in-depth research in the field, we summarize the review of ECL chiral recognition from the following aspects, i.e., the historical development of chiral recognition, the mechanism of ECL chiral recognition, different ECL-active materials for chiral recognition, and some challenges and outlooks in ECL chiral recognition.