Miniaturized Tris(2,2-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) Electrochemiluminescence Detection Cell for Capillary Electrophoresis and Flow Injection Analysis

The design and performance of a miniaturized chip-type tris(2,2ʹ-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) [Ru(bpy)3^2+] electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection cell suitable for both capillary electrophoresis (CE) and flow injection (FI) analysis are described. The cell was fabricated from two pieces of glass (20 × 15 × 1.7 mm), and the 0.5-mm-diameter platinum disk was used as working electrode held at +1.15 V (vs silver wire quasi-reference), the stainless steel guide tubing as counter electrode, and the silver wire as quasi-reference electrode. The performance traits of the cell in both CE and FI modes were evaluated using tripropylamine, proline, and oxalate and compared favorably to those reported for CE and FI detection cells. The advantages of versatility, sensitivity, and accuracy make the device attractive for the routine analysis of amine-containing species or oxalate by CE and FI with Ru(bpy)3^2+ ECL detection.