| abstract |
A chemical moiety which comprises a chemical, biochemical, or biological substance attached to one or more electrochemiluminescent organometallic compounds. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the substance is attached to one or more ruthenium-containing or osmium-containing luminescent organometallic compounds. Methods are disclosed for detecting very small amounts of the chemical moiety using chemiluminescent, electrochemiluminescent, and photoluminescent means. Compounds are disclosed which are useful for labelling substances of interest with ruthenium-containing and osmium-containing labels or other electrochemiluminescent labels. These labelled substances are useful in methods provided for detecting and quantifying analytes of interest in binding assays and competitive binding assays. The labelled substances are of particular use in homogeneous binding assays. These methods form the bases for systems designed to enable the rapid, efficient, and sensitive determination of a broad array of chemical, biochemical, and biological materials of interest. |