Recent Advances in Electrochemiluminescence Sensors for Hg2+ Ion Detection: A Review

As one of the most sensitive detection methods, electrochemiluminescence (ECL) has received great attention due to its unique properties such as extremely low background, high sensitivity, wide dynamic range, simple, rapid and inexpensive instrumentation and ability to measure in in the area of environmental, biochemical and pharmaceutical matrices. Electrochemiluminescent sensors are able to detect the presence and evaluate the content of various toxic substances (pesticides, heavy metals, etc.) both in water and in food. Among the heavy metal ions, mercury ion (Hg2+) is one of the most stable forms in mercury pollution. It is a widely investigated analyte since it is a toxic element at very low concentrations and its determination is very important for environmental purposes. This article reviews key advances in electrochemiluminescence measurements of Hg2+ ions over the past decade. The categorization of different ECL sensors is done on the basis of different luminophores including luminol, ruthenium(II) complexes and quantum dots.