TPE based electrochemiluminescence for ALP selective rapid one-step detection applied in vitro

Abstract The aggregation-induced electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of phosphate-containing tetraphenylethene (TPE) for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity detection in aqueous solution was investigated for the first time. By using the triethylamine (TEA) as the coreactant, the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) emitters TPE-pho exhibited a strong anode aggregation state electrochemical luminescence. In the presence of ALP, the phosphoric group was derived from the original conjugated structure by enzymatic lysis leading to a decreasing ECL signal. High selectivity and sensitivity to ALP were showed by this new luminescent material applied in the ECL system. The detection limit in Tris-HCl buffer was found to be 0.037 U/L, and the linear quantitative range was 0.1–6.0 U/L. This method was also tried to be used in the human serum and cell experiments and successfully demonstrated its potential application in clinical analysis of ALP levels in cell and serum.