Abstract: This invention pertains to the general field of chemical and biological assays which employ electrochemiluminescence (ECL), also referred to as electrogenerated chemiliminescence. More particularly, the present invention pertains to certain classes of chemical moieties which strongly quench ECL, and the use of these ECL quenchers in combination with ECL labels, for example, in ECL assay methods which employ an ECL quencher and an ECL label. One class of such quenching moieties are those which comprise at least one benzene moiety. Sub-classes of such quenching moieties are those which comprise at least one phenol moiety, quinone moiety, benzene carboxylic acid, and/or benzene carboxylate moiety.

Abstract: Luminescent chemical reagents that include complexes of rare earth metals with ligands such as aromatic heterocyclic nitrogen-containing compounds and semi-aromatic oxygen-containing compounds are used to detect small quantities of complex substances such as pharmaceuticals, metabolites, and microorganisms in complex sample mixtures.