NANO-BOOST · Smart Nanoreactors for Enhanced Electrochemiluminescent Biosensing

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is luminescence driven by electrochemical reactions, offering unparalleled spatiotemporal control and exceptionally low background noise compared to other optical methods. Over the past two decades, ECL has become a powerful analytical tool, revolutionizing areas ranging from fundamental research to clinical diagnostics, biosensing, and biological applications. Despite these significant advancements, understanding the fundamental mechanisms behind ECL remains a complex and ongoing challenge. Creating confined reaction environments at the nanoscale offer a promising tool to unlock new insights into ECL mechanisms. Key questions in this context are: i) Can we establish a connection between the design of nano electrodes and their nanoconfinement performance in ECL? ii) Can such a connection be a tool capable of simulating various ECL reactions to optimize reaction parameters? iii) Can this model help identify the optimal microenvironment to maximize ECL efficiency?NANO-BOOST will answer these questions by exploring the combined effects of nanoscale geometry and surface chemistry on ECL efficiency with the goal of developing advanced smart ECL Nanoreactors (ECL-NR). Using high-throughput nanofabrication techniques that enable precise control over surface topography and chemistry, NANO-BOOST will bridge the gap between material science and chemistry, creating new synergies to accelerate the discovery of new aspects of ECL mechanisms. NANO-BOOST will establish a definitive correlation between nanostructure design, nanoconfinement, and reaction parameters, thereby pinpointing the optimal conditions to maximize ECL efficiency within specific analytical contexts. These discoveries will contribute to the advancement of high-performance ECL sensing platforms with applications across various scientific domains, such as diagnostics, imaging, and bioanalytical research, consequently propelling early and precise disease detection capabilities.