NiFe Nanoalloy Electrocatalyst as a Coreaction Accelerator for Enhancing Biomarker Electrochemiluminescence Imaging Detection

The development of coreaction accelerators with excellent performance is crucial for improving electrochemiluminescence (ECL) performance. In this study, a NiFe nanoalloy electrocatalyst (NiFe-NAEC) was used as a coreaction accelerator to promote persulfate activation, resulting in a 44-fold increase in the ECL intensity of flower-like Zn-3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylate (FL-Zn-PTC). Moreover, the synergistic combination of NiFe-NAEC and silver nanoparticles led to a 134-fold increase in the ECL intensity of FL-Zn-PTC, with a 6275% improvement in the ECL efficiency compared with a reference system containing Ru-bpy/K₂S₂O₈. Consequently, a sensor was constructed for the visual detection of amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide. This sensor exhibited high sensitivity and provided intuitive results within a linear range from 0.01 to 1000 pg/mL, with a detection limit of 2.1 fg/mL. Overall, this study presents a strategy that integrates an electrocatalytic coreaction accelerator with synergistic enhancement to improve ECL performance. This approach has the potential to expand the range of emitter materials and advance ECL technology.