Nanostructured materials for electrochemiluminescence (ECL)-based detection methods: recent advances and future perspectives.

This review presents a general picture of the last advances and developments (2003-2008) related to novel nanostructured materials for electrochemiluminescence-based biosensors using. It briefly covers the basic mechanisms of ECL detection, and the recent developments in fabrication of solid-state ECL sensors using nanostructured materials such as carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles, quantum dots, thin films of metallopolymers and of inorganic metal complexes. Finally, challenges and perspectives of the use of such materials for biomedical diagnostics are discussed.