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A colorimetric assay for Hg(II) based on the use of a magnetic aptamer and a hybridization chain reaction

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Abstract

We describe a colorimetric assay for mercury(II) ion. It is based on a hybridization chain reaction (HCR) and the use of Fe3O4@Au nanoparticles (NPs). Aptamers specific for Hg(II) were immobilized on the surface of the Fe3O4@AuNPs. The presence of Hg(II) inhibits the HCR process and this enables less Methylene Blue (MB) to intercalate into the dsDNA structure. After magnetic separation of the DNA-loaded NPs carrying Hg(II), the change in the absorbance of the residual MB solution is measured at 663 nm. The respective calibration plot is linear in the 1 to 300 nM concentration range, with a 0.7 nM detection limit (at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The method displays excellent selectivity over other metal ions. It was applied to the analysis of Hg(II) in spiked river water.

Fe3O4@Au nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated, then aptamers were modified on the surface of Fe3O4@AuNPs. The absence of Hg2+ leads to the formation of dsDNA polymers via hybridization chain reaction (HCR) process on the surface of Fe3O4@AuNPs, Methylene Blue (MB) intercalates into these DNA polymers, which can be easily separated from MB solution by applying a magnet, thereby inducing a color change of the MB solution.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21301103, 21501106), the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, the Taishan Scholarship, the Shandong Province High Education Research and Development Program (J13LA08).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Key Laboratory of Eco-chemical Engineering, Ministry of Education, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, China

    Lina Wang

  2. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, China

    Fengya Liu, Ning Sui, Manhong Liu & William W. Yu

  3. Department of Chemistry and Physics, Louisiana State University, Shreveport, LA, 71115, USA

    William W. Yu

Authors
  1. Lina Wang
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  2. Fengya Liu
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  3. Ning Sui
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  4. Manhong Liu
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  5. William W. Yu
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Correspondence to Ning Sui or William W. Yu.

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Wang, L., Liu, F., Sui, N. et al. A colorimetric assay for Hg(II) based on the use of a magnetic aptamer and a hybridization chain reaction. Microchim Acta 183, 2855–2860 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-016-1932-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-016-1932-2

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