Fe3O4 NP@ZIF-8/MoS2 QD-based electrochemiluminescence with nanosurface energy transfer strategy for point-of-care determination of ATP

Abstract Herein, Fe3O4 NP@ZIF-8/MoS2 QD-based electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor with nanosurface energy transfer strategy was successfully developed for point-of-care determination of ATP. With the porous structure and poor electron transfer ability, Fe3O4 NP@ZIF-8 complex was first used as an excellent catalyst in ECL. The complex catalyzed the coreactant for more free radicals and hindered the quenching effect of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) on quantum dots (QDs). In ECL-nanosurface energy transfer (NSET) system, through the specific binding of complementary DNA linked to MoS2 QDs (QDs-cDNA) and aptamer linked to Au NPs, interaction between the point dipole of MoS2 QDs and the collective dipoles of Au NPs quenched ECL signal. When ATP was captured by aptamer, the ECL-NSET system was taken apart, which resulted in the recovery of ECL signal. Moreover, changes of the ECL imaging can be captured by a smartphone, which enabled point-of-care determination of ATP from 0.05 nmol L−1 to 200 nmol L−1 with LOD of 0.015 nmol L−1. With superior specificity and stability, the sensing system showed significant potential about the application of catalysts coated with ZIF and NSET in point-of-care ECL determination.