Development of an ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescence inhibition method for the determination of tetracyclines

An electrochemiluminescence (ECL) inhibition method is developed for quantitative determination of four tetracyclines (TCs) in honey samples, including tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC), chlortetracycline (CTC) and doxycycline (DC). It was found that the four TCs strongly inhibited the ECL signal of the Ru(bpy)₃²⁺/DBAE system. Based on the ECL signal changes, a simple and ultrasensitive detection method for TCs was thus established. The optimum experimental conditions including the scan mode and scan rate of the applied potential, the type of the buffer solution and its pH, and the concentration of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ and DBAE for the ECL inhibition method, were investigated in detail. Under the optimized conditions, the quenched ECL intensity versus the logarithm of the concentration of TCs is in good linear relationship over a concentration range from 4.0 × 10⁻¹¹ to 4.0 × 10⁻⁹ g mL⁻¹. The detection limits were found to be 2.0 × 10⁻¹² g mL⁻¹. The results obtained by the proposed ECL system, in terms of sensitivity, were much better than those of previously reported methods. In addition, the method was applied successfully to determine the total residuals of the four TCs in honey samples. The relative standard deviations were found in a range of 4.9–14.3%, and the recoveries were obtained from 87.5% to 115.0%. A possible mechanism for the quenching effects of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺/DBAE system was also proposed.