鲁米诺电化学发光关键中间体的质谱在线表征

On-line Mass Spectrometric Characterization of Key Intermediates in Luminol Electrochemiluminescence

  • 摘要: 鲁米诺优异的电化学发光性能使其在分析检测领域获得了广泛应用,然而,与反应机理相关的直接数据鲜有报道。本研究基于电化学-微米管-质谱(electrochemistry-micro tube-mass spectrometry, EC-MT-MS)技术,选用具有微米尖端的高硼硅玻璃管作为电解池和质谱电喷雾离子源,通过内置2根铂金丝电极连接自制的电化学工作站,实现鲁米诺电化学发光反应的实时在线质谱分析,结合串联质谱技术确认了相关产物的分子结构。本工作发现了鲁米诺电化学反应的2种关键中间体以及发光产物3-氨基邻苯二甲酸,确认了过氧化氢对于鲁米诺发光反应的增益机制。此外,将1,4-苯醌加入鲁米诺-过氧化氢体系,验证了超氧根阴离子自由基(O2·-,源于过氧化氢)在鲁米诺电发光反应过程中的核心作用,本实验结果为研究鲁米诺发光机理提供了直接的数据参考。

     

    Abstract: Due to the low oxidation potential and high electrochemiluminescence (ECL) quantum yield, Luminol has been widely applied in analytical and detection fields, especially in immunoassay, food safety and environmental monitoring. However, there is a lack of sufficient experimental evidence on the ECL mechanism of Luminol, which affects the further improvement of its ECL efficiency. Herein, an electrochemistry-micro tube-mass spectrometry (EC-MT-MS) device was constructed for on-line monitoring of Luminol ECL reaction. In this EC-MT-MS device, a high borosilicate glass tube with a nano tip was used as electrochemical cell and electrospray ionization source, a platinum working electrode and a platinum counter electrode were inserted into the tube and connected to a customized power station, which could simultaneously input a low voltage (volt level) for the ECL reaction and a high voltage (kilovolt level) for the formation of electrospray. Prior to the EC-MT-MS experiment, the composition of the reaction solution was optimized to obtain the highest MS signal response, and Luminol was dissolved in acetonitrile-water (4:1, V/V) solvent with ammonium acetate as the electrolyte. The concentrations of Luminol and ammonium acetate in the prepared solution were both 0.1 mmol/L, and the pH was adjusted to 11 using ammonium aqueous. The oxidation potential of Luminol was subsequently studied using a traditional three-electrode system by cyclic voltammetry in the same solution, and the determined oxidation potential for ECL reaction was 0.87 V. During the EC-MT-MS measurements, (2.5 kV+0.87 V) and 2.5 kV were input to the working and counter through the power station, respectively. A series of short-lived intermediates and products such as L1 (m/z 198) and the luminescent precursor AP- (m/z 180) in the Luminol ECL reaction process were successfully captured and analyzed by MS. The molecular structures of these products were characterized by tandem mass spectrometry (MSn) technique. There are mainly two fragments of m/z 163, 136 present in the MS2 spectrum of luminescent precursor AP-, attributed to the (NH2+H) and COO losses, respectively. In addition, the promotion mechanism of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for the ECL performance of Luminol was also investigated. A key reaction intermediate LO2H- was found in the MS spectrum at m/z 208. Meanwhile, the peak intensity of luminescent precursor AP- significantly increased from 1.3% to 15.7%, proving that the presence of H2O2 effectively promoted the generation of key luminescent intermediate. Finally, by adding 1,4-benzoquinone to the Luminol-H2O2 system, the central role of the superoxide anion radical (O2·-) derived from H2O2 in the Luminol ECL process was confirmed. The relevant results provide a direct data reference for the study of the Luminol ECL mechanism.

     

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