Overview on the design and application of magnetically-assisted electrochemiluminescence biosensors

Most of electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensors usually require the immobilization of biological recognition elements on the electrode surface by physical adsorption, embedding, self-assembly or covalent bonding. However, such ECL biosensors are limited in practical applications because the modified electrode can only be used once. Magnetically-assisted ECL biosensors have significant advantages in preconcentration and separation of targets in complex samples. More importantly, magnetic sensing systems show high-throughput since magnetic beads or nanoparticles can be produced and preserved in a large-scale dose. In this work, we review the progress in the design and application of magnetically-assisted ECL biosensors based on the difference in the roles of magnetic materials within the sensing system.