Engineering Pt‐Ni Alloy Coral Nanoclusters with Efficient Oxygen Reduction: Enabling Endogenous Oxygen‐Mediated Sustainable Electrochemiluminescence for Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Abstract In biomedical diagnostics, endogenous oxygen‐mediated electrochemiluminescence (ECL) systems hold promise for avoiding toxic exogenous coreactants but are limited by sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics, a long‐standing, cross‐disciplinary challenge hindering ECL progress toward ultrasensitivity and sustainability. Herein, Pt‐Ni alloy coral‐like nanoclusters are prepared by tuning Pt/Ni precursor ratio and glucose template concentration. Acid etching created a thin Pt skin overlying the residual Pt‐Ni core, introducing >1.78% interfacial compressive strain. This hierarchical architecture, synergizing ligand and strain effects, enables a four‐electron ORR (49.56 mV dec −1 Tafel slope) that outperforms commercial Pt/C. Theoretical calculations confirmed that this design modulates electron distribution, downshifting the d ‐band center and weakening oxygen adsorption energy, thereby boosting ORR activity. Using dissolved oxygen as the coreactant, this Pt‐based catalyst sensitizes the ECL emission of graphitic carbon nitride nanoplates by 14.5‐fold while maintaining stability for >10 min, affording an ECL platform for breast cancer diagnosis via HER2 proteins and BT‐474 cells. It can discriminate HER2‐positive samples from negative ones, monitor HER2 expression across different cell lines, and dynamically track expression changes. This work not only overcomes ORR bottlenecks but also enables high‐performance, eco‐friendly ECL catalysts, further advancing the clinical translation of endogenous oxygen‐mediated ECL in precision oncology.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2025-10-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202521284
Primary Topic
Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Engineering Pt‐Ni Alloy Coral Nanoclusters with Efficient Oxygen Reduction: Enabling Endogenous Oxygen‐Mediated Sustainable Electrochemiluminescence for Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Yue Cao, Xiaohan Yang, Y. Gao, Wenlei Zhu et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
article

Engineering Pt‐Ni Alloy Coral Nanoclusters with Efficient Oxygen Reduction: Enabling Endogenous Oxygen‐Mediated Sustainable Electrochemiluminescence for Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Yue Cao, Xiaohan Yang, Y. Gao, Wenlei Zhu, Haoyuan Song, Long Zhang, Jian He, Yang Zhou
article en

Abstract

Abstract In biomedical diagnostics, endogenous oxygen‐mediated electrochemiluminescence (ECL) systems hold promise for avoiding toxic exogenous coreactants but are limited by sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics, a long‐standing, cross‐disciplinary challenge hindering ECL progress toward ultrasensitivity and sustainability. Herein, Pt‐Ni alloy coral‐like nanoclusters are prepared by tuning Pt/Ni precursor ratio and glucose template concentration. Acid etching created a thin Pt skin overlying the residual Pt‐Ni core, introducing >1.78% interfacial compressive strain. This hierarchical architecture, synergizing ligand and strain effects, enables a four‐electron ORR (49.56 mV dec −1 Tafel slope) that outperforms commercial Pt/C. Theoretical calculations confirmed that this design modulates electron distribution, downshifting the d ‐band center and weakening oxygen adsorption energy, thereby boosting ORR activity. Using dissolved oxygen as the coreactant, this Pt‐based catalyst sensitizes the ECL emission of graphitic carbon nitride nanoplates by 14.5‐fold while maintaining stability for >10 min, affording an ECL platform for breast cancer diagnosis via HER2 proteins and BT‐474 cells. It can discriminate HER2‐positive samples from negative ones, monitor HER2 expression across different cell lines, and dynamically track expression changes. This work not only overcomes ORR bottlenecks but also enables high‐performance, eco‐friendly ECL catalysts, further advancing the clinical translation of endogenous oxygen‐mediated ECL in precision oncology.

Advanced Functional MaterialsVol. 36(20)
Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (CN), State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse (CN), Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 73%
Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.