A Portable Microfluidic-Based Electrochemiluminescence Sensor for Trace Detection of Trenbolone in Natural Water
Xianzhen Song, Xiang Ren, Wei Zhao, Lu Zhao, Shoufeng Wang, Chuannan Luo, Yuyang Li, Qin Wei
Abstract
In this study, a portable electrochemiluminescence sensor chip was designed for trenbolone (TBE) trace detection in environmental water. First, a stable ECL signal was obtained with low-toxicity 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic acid (PTCA) as a luminophore and persulfate (S2O82–) as a coreactant. Second, hollow-structured Cu2MoS4 was introduced as a coreaction accelerator to catalyze S2O82– reduction. The reversible conversion of the mixed-valence transition metal ions in Cu2MoS4 (Cu+/Cu2+ and Mo4+/Mo6+) greatly promoted the generation of the sulfate radical (SO4•–). Meanwhile, the special porous structure of Cu2MoS4 possessed a large specific surface area, thus enhancing its catalytic performance. Based on these enhancement mechanisms, a strong ECL signal was acquired, which improved the detection sensitivity of the constructed sensor. Importantly, a microfluidic chip was introduced for sensing detection, thereby improving the practicality of the sensor. The developed sensor chip was miniature and portable, exhibiting high sensitivity for TBE detection with a wide linear range (10 fg/mL–100 ng/mL) and lower detection limit (3.32 fg/mL). This was of great significance for timely and rapid analysis of steroid pollutants in natural water.