Morphology-Controlled 9,10-Diphenylanthracene Nanoblocks as Electrochemiluminescence Emitters for MicroRNA Detection with One-Step DNA Walker Amplification

The electrochemiluminescence (ECL) properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are excellent on account of the high photoluminescence quantum yield. However, the poor solubility and radical instability of PAHs in the aqueous solution severely restricted further biological application. Here 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) nanoblocks (NBs) with good dispersibility and stability in aqueous solution were prepared according to morphology-controlled technology employing water-soluble polymers as a protectant. Furthermore, an ECL "off–on" switch biosensor was developed based on a novel ECL ternary system with DPA NBs as luminophore, dissolved O2 as coreactant, and Pt–Ag alloy nanoflowers as the coreaction accelerator, which achieved a high-intense initial ECL signal. Subsequently, the Fc-DNA as ECL signal quencher was assembled on the electrode surface to quench the initial ECL signal for a "signal-off" state. Meanwhile, DNA swing arm was modified on the electrode surface for one-step DNA walker amplification. Interestingly, in the presence of miRNA-141 and T7 Exo, the one-step DNA walker amplification was executed to recover a strong ECL signal as a "signal-on" state by the digestion of Fc-DNA. Thus the developed ECL "off–on" switch biosensor possesses a detection limit down to 29.5 aM for ultrasensitive detection of miRNA-141, which is expected to be applicable to the detection of miRNA in clinic tumor cells.