Low-triggering-potential electrochemiluminescence based on mental-organic frameworks encapsulation of ruthenium for synthetic cathinone detection by coupling photonic crystal light-scattering signal amplification of covalent-organic frameworks

Developing effective electrochemiluminescence (ECL) platforms is always an essential concern in highly sensitive bioanalysis. In this work, a low-triggering-potential ECL sensor was designed for detecting synthetic cathinone 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) based on a dual-signal amplification strategy. Initially, a probe was created by integrating Ruthenium into the hollow porphyrin-based MOF (PCN-222) structure to decrease the excitation potential and enhance ECL performance without external co-reaction accelerators. Additionally, for the first time, photonic crystals (PCs) assembled from covalent organic frameworks (COFs) were employed to amplify the ECL signal, thereby increasing the photon flux and the loading capacity of the ECL emitter to enhance sensitivity of the sensor. In the presence of the target MDPV, the aptamer labeled with Ferrocene (Fc) experienced conformational changes, causing Fc to approach the luminophore and resulting in ECL quenching. This effect was attributed to aptamer's conformational changes induced by the target, directly correlating with the target concentration. The constructed sensor showed good linearity with the target MDPV concentration, covering a dynamic range from 1.0 × 10−14 to 1.0 × 10−6 g/L and achieved an ultra-low detection limit of 4.79 × 10−15 g/L. This work employed dual amplification strategies to enhance ECL signals effectively, providing a novel method for developing highly responsive and bioactive sensors. [Display omitted] •A novel low-potential-driven ECL system based on RuHPCN-222 was reported.•The ruthenium single atom anchored HPCN-222 further reduced the triggering potential and improved the ECL performance.•Photonic Crystals Assembled from Covalent Organic Frameworks were used for ECL amplification for the first time.•The ECL biosensor showed high accuracy and selectivity for MDPV detection.•The MDPV was detected with a detection limit as low as 5.16 × 10−15 g/L.