An Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence Probe and Its Application Utilizing Tris(2,2‘-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) and Luminol Chemiluminescence without a Flowing Stream

A novel electrogenerated chemiluminescent (ECL) probe that does not require a dark box to exclude ambient light has been developed. The probe is placed within the sample solution in a fashion similar to the use of a pH electrode. Thus, the flowing stream method of analyte introduction typically used for ECL analysis is not necessary. A fiber-optic bundle is utilized to carry the light produced within the probe to a photomultiplier tube for detection. Within the body of this probe is a three-electrode configuration necessary for ECL generation. The three ECL systems, luminol, tris(2,2‘-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III), and luminol coupled with an immobilized oxidase enzyme, have been used with this probe. The relative standard deviation for a typical sample was found to be 0.6%. Glucose determinations ranging from 3.0 to 1000 μM were made without a pH change for several real samples employing luminol and glucose oxidase immobilized within the probe body.