Synergistic chemiluminescence nanoprobe: Au clusters-Cu2+-induced chemiexcitation of cyclic peroxides and resonance energy transfer.

An interesting chemiluminescence (CL) phenomenon of cyclic peroxides originating from tetrahydrofuran hydrogen peroxide (THF-HPO) in the presence of BSA-stabilized Au NCs (Au@BSA NCs) was found for the first time. In this CL system, Au@BSA NCs can greatly accelerate the decomposition of THF-HPO, and then chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) occurs between excited dioxetane derivatives and the Au@BSA NCs, yielding enhanced CL emission which can be further enhanced more than 10 times by the addition of copper ions. Based on this, a synergistic CL nanoprobe with a special signal amplification strategy was developed.