Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer between Ru(bpy)32+ Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence and Gold Nanoparticles/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites with Graphene Oxide as Coreactant and Its Sensing Application

In the present work, strong anodic electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of Ru(bpy)32+ was observed at a graphene oxide modified glassy carbon electrode (GO/GCE) in the absence of coreactants. The electrocatalytical effect of GO on the oxidation of Ru(bpy)32+ suggested that GO itself can act as the coreactant of Ru(bpy)32+ ECL, which can be used to fabricate the ECL biosensor. Thiol group terminated adenosine triphosphate (ATP) aptamer was immobilized on the GO film via DNA hybridization. When gold nanoparticles/graphene oxide (AuNPs/GO) nanocomposites were modified on the aptamer through the S–Au bond to form a sandwich-like structure, the ECL resonance energy transfer (ECL-RET) could occur between Ru(bpy)32+ and AuNPs/GO nanocomposites, resulting in an apparent decrease of ECL signal. After the ECL sensor was incubated in ATP solution, the AuNPs/GO nanocomposites were released from the electrode due to the specific interaction between aptamer and ATP, leading to the increased ECL signal. On the basis of these results, an ECL aptasensor was fabricated and could be used in the sensitive and selective detection of ATP in the range of 0.02–200 pM with a detection limit of 6.7 fM (S/N = 3). The proposed ECL aptasensor can be applied in the detection of ATP in real samples with satisfactory results.