Development of portable CdS QDs screen-printed carbon electrode platform for electrochemiluminescence measurements and bioanalytical applications

In this work, a portable and disposable screen-printed electrode-based platform for CdS QDs electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection is presented. CdS QDs were synthesized in aqueous media and placed on top of carbon electrodes by drop casting. The CdS QDs spherical assemblies consisted of nanoparticles about 4 nm diameters and served as ECL sensitizers to enzymatic assays. The nanoparticles were characterized by optical techniques, TEM and XPS. Besides, the electrode modification process was optimized and further studied by SEM and confocal microscopy. The ECL emission from CdS QDs was triggered with H2O2 as cofactor and enzymatic assays were employed to modulate the CdS QDs ECL signal by blocking the surface or generating H2O2 in situ. Thiol-bearing compounds such as thiocholine generated through the hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) interacted with the surface of CdS QDs thus blocking the ECL. The biosensor showed a linear range up to 5 mU mL−1 and a detection limit of 0.73 mU mL−1 for AChE. Moreover, the inhibition mechanism of the enzyme was studied by using 1,5-bis-(4-allyldimethylammonium-phenyl)pentan-3-one dibromide with a detection limit of 79.22 nM. Furthermore, the natural production of H2O2 from the oxidation of methanol by the action of alcohol oxidase was utilized to carry out the ECL process. This enzymatic assay presented a linear range up to 0.5 mg L−1 and a detection limit of 61.46 μg L−1 for methanol. The reported methodology shows potential applications for the development of sensitive and easy to hand biosensors and was applied to the determination of AChE and methanol in real samples.