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Ultrasensitive detection of lead(II) using a turn-on probe based on the use of an aptamer and a water-soluble fluorescent perylene probe

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Abstract

The authors describe an ultra-sensitive approach for the determination of lead(II) by using a lead-specific aptamer and a fluorophore derived from perylenetetracarboxylic acid diimide (PTCDI). The fluorescence of PTCDI, with excitation/emission peaks at 494/543 nm, is quenched by the aptamer but restored if the aptamer binds lead(II). A detection scheme has been worked out that has a 0.1 ng·mL−1limit of detection and a dynamic range that extends from 0.1 ng·mL−1 to 10 μg·mL−1. The assay also demonstrates high selectivity for lead ions over nine other ions due to the aptamer’s high specificity. The method shows a average recovery of 77.2–93.4% with an RSD of less than 3% in water samples.

Schematic of an aptamer and perylenetetracarboxylic acid diimide (PTCDI) based fluorescent assay for lead (II). It has a dynamic range of 0.1 ng•mL−1 to 10 μg•mL−1 and a detection limit of 0.1 ng•mL−1.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Special Fund for Agro Scientific Research in the Public Interest (201203046, 201203023). The authors expressed their gratitude for the support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-products, Key Laboratory of Agro-product Quality and Safety, Beijing, 100081, China

    Mengmeng Yan, Chao Zhu, Yafei Huang, Jiao Yan & Ailiang Chen

  2. Key Laboratory of Agri-food Quality and Safety, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100081, China

    Mengmeng Yan, Chao Zhu, Yafei Huang, Jiao Yan & Ailiang Chen

  3. College of Food Science and Technology, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China

    Yafei Huang & Jiao Yan

Authors
  1. Mengmeng Yan
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  2. Chao Zhu
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  3. Yafei Huang
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  4. Jiao Yan
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  5. Ailiang Chen
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Correspondence to Ailiang Chen.

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Yan, M., Zhu, C., Huang, Y. et al. Ultrasensitive detection of lead(II) using a turn-on probe based on the use of an aptamer and a water-soluble fluorescent perylene probe. Microchim Acta 184, 2439–2444 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-017-2292-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-017-2292-2

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