Wavelength-Dependent Surface Plasmon Coupling Electrochemiluminescence Biosensor Based on Sulfur-Doped Carbon Nitride Quantum Dots for K-RAS Gene Detection

Although graphite phase carbon nitride quantum dots (GCN QDs) showed some advantages in the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) analytical research, the low ECL efficiency limited the potential sensing application. Herein, we synthesized sulfur-doped graphite phase carbon nitride quantum dots (S-GCN QDs) to fabricate a sandwich sensor based on amplified surface plasmon coupling ECL (SPC-ECL) mode. Sulfur doping can change the surface states of QDs effectively and produced new element vacancy. As a result, the ECL efficiency of S-GCN QDs was 2.5× over GCN QDs. Furthermore, compared with the big gap between the ECL peak of GCN QDs (620 nm) and the absorption peak of Au NPs, the doped sulfur elements in S-GCN QDs generated new ECL emission peaks at 555 nm, which was closed to the absorption peak of Au NPs at 530 nm. Due to the wavelength-dependent surface plasmon coupling effect, the ECL peak of S-GCN QDs at 555 nm had greater amplitude of enhancement in the sensing system. The proposed biosensor can quantify the K-RAS gene from 50 fM to 1 nM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 16 fM. We were the first to provide insight into the role of wavelength-dependent surface plasmon coupling in enhancing the sensitivity of ECL biosensor.