Label-free electrogenerated chemiluminescence biosensor for quantization of CD44 on basis of its heterodimerization with matrix metalloproteinase-14

•ECL biosensor was designed on basis of heterodimerization interaction between CD44 and hemopexin-like domain (PEX) of MMP-14 (PEX-14).•The Ru complex attached to the Co, Mo2C-CNF@PDA-modified surface enhance the ECL signal gained, which facilitates the sensitivity of detection.•No need to tag the protein thus maintains the protein activity to some extent.