Copper nanoclusters (Cu NCs) were a new class of non-toxic and economical nanoprobe. However, the low luminescence performance and instability of Cu NCs limited the actual application. Herein, this work developed the novel controllable assembly of Cu NCs aggregation as the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emitter. Firstly, the hydrophilic Cu NCs was located into the micelles in the reverse microemulsion system. Due to the uniform size of micelles, the number of Cu NCs in each micelle can be controlled exactly. Cerium ions were added to induce Cu NCs to accumulate in micelles. The strong aggregation induced ECL (AIECL) signal can be observed in the controllable assembly of Cu NCs aggregation. The nano-sized Cu NCs assembly not only possessed more strong luminescence and better stability than original Cu NCs, but also kept the good dispersibility over the aggregated bulk. Furthermore, SnS₂ nanosheets increased the specific surface area of the electrode and the number of reactive sites, which further modulated electron transfer to amplify the ECL signal. The ECL sensing system was used to detect miRNA-455–3p in the triple-negative breast cancer tumor tissues. The work provided the new pathway to prepare Cu NCs assembly and expanded AIECL-based sensing application.

铜纳米团簇 (Cu NCs) 是一类新型无毒且经济的纳米探针。然而，Cu NCs的低发光性能和不稳定性限制了实际应用。在此，这项工作开发了新型可控的 Cu NCs 聚集体作为电化学发光 (ECL) 发射体。首先，亲水性 Cu NCs 位于反相微乳液系统的胶束中。由于胶束大小均匀，每个胶束中Cu NCs的数量可以精确控制。添加铈离子以诱导 Cu NCs 在胶束中积累。在 Cu NCs 聚集的可控组装中可以观察到强聚集诱导的 ECL (AIECL) 信号。纳米尺寸的 Cu NCs 组件不仅具有比原始 Cu NCs 更强的发光性和更好的稳定性，但也保持了在聚集体上的良好分散性。此外，SnS₂纳米片增加了电极的比表面积和反应位点的数量，进一步调节电子转移以放大ECL信号。ECL传感系统用于检测三阴性乳腺癌肿瘤组织中的miRNA-455-3p。该工作为制备 Cu NCs 组件提供了新途径，并扩展了基于 AIECL 的传感应用。