NH₂–Ag@CuNWs with self-catalytically enhanced electrochemiluminescence as a luminophore for the ultrasensitive evaluation of liver cancer markers

Exploring novel luminophores and co-reactant accelerators to enhance electrochemiluminescence (ECL) performance represents a cutting-edge academic research. In this study, a new of ECL system based on copper nanowires (CuNWs) was proposed, which successfully achieved enhanced ECL performance of CuNWs. Specifically, NH₂–Ag-coated copper nanowires (NH₂–Ag@CuNWs) were fabricated as a quasi-three-dimensional luminescent composite that integrated both a luminophore and a co-reactant accelerator, distinguished by a low trigger potential of −0.7 V. The NH₂–Ag@CuNWs composite lumophore not only protect the excellent luminescent properties of CuNWs, but also leverages NH₂–Ag as an accelerator for the CuNWs/K₂S₂O₈ system, shortening the distance required for redox reaction. The dual catalytic effect of the amino groups and Ag promoted the generation of intermediate free radicals from sulfate anions, accelerating electron transfer kinetics and redox reaction rates, while effectively enhancing and stabilizing the luminescent response. Combining the high affinity and selectivity of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), a molecularly imprinted electrochemiluminescence sensing (MIECLS) platform was further developed for ultra-sensitive detection of alpha-fetoprotein(AFP). Under optimized experimental conditions, the detection range of the MIECLS was 10 fg mL⁻¹ to 100 ng mL⁻¹, and the limit of detection was 1.10 fg mL⁻¹. This work not only provides a promising strategy for precise detection of AFP in complex matrices, but also proposes new strategies for improving the performance of CuNWs, expanding its applications.