Cysteine
(Cys) is important in biosynthesis, detoxification, and
metabolism. The selective detection of Cys over structurally similar
homocysteine (Hcy) or glutathione (GSH) remains an immense challenge.
Although there are many methods for detecting Cys, photoluminescence
(PL) and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) techniques are well-suited
for clinical diagnostics and analytical technology because of their
high sensitivities. Herein, we report PL and ECL dual-channel sensors
using cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes for the discrimination
of Cys from Hcy and GSH. The sensors react with cysteine preferentially
because of kinetic differences in intramolecular conjugate addition/cyclization,
enabling phosphorescence enhancement and ECL decrease in the blue-shifted
region. Sensor
1
shows ratiometric PL turn-on and ECL
turn-off for Cys. In addition, unique ECL-enhancing behavior of sensor
1
toward GSH enables discrimination between Cys and GSH. Sensor
1
was successfully applied to the detection of Cys in human
serum by the ECL method. We demonstrate the first case of a Cys-selective
PL and ECL dual-channel chemodosimetric sensor based on cyclometalated
iridium(III) complexes and expect that the rational design of efficient
PL and ECL dual-channel sensors will be useful in diagnostic technology.