A novel chemiluminescence sensor for sensitive detection of cholesterol based on the peroxidase-like activity of copper nanoclusters

A sensitive and selective chemiluminescence (CL) sensor based on the peroxidase-like activity of copper nanoclusters was established for the detection of cholesterol. Copper nanoclusters catalyse the CL reaction between luminol and H2O2. Because H2O2 is the oxidative product of cholesterol in the presence of cholesterol oxidase, the oxidation of cholesterol can be quantitatively converted to a CL response by combining the two reactions. The proposed method is simple and can be completed in a few minutes with high sensitivity. Under the optimal conditions, the CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of cholesterol over a wide range of 0.05-10 mM, with a detection limit of 1.5 μM. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied to determine cholesterol in milk powder and human serum with satisfactory accuracy and precision. This method expands the applications of nano-mimic enzymes in the field of CL-based sensors.