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Colorimetric aminotriazole assay based on catalase deactivation-dependent longitudinal etching of gold nanorods

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Abstract

A colorimetric and visual assay is described for the herbicide aminotriazole (ATZ). It is based on the etching of gold nanorods (AuNRs) by iodine which is formed on oxidation of iodide via H2O2. Longitudinal etching of the AuNRs occurs quickly and is accompanied by a color change from dark blue to red. In the absence of ATZ and the presence of active catalase (CAT), H2O2 is quickly decomposed into water, and the AuNRs will not be etched. In the presence of ATZ, CAT is partially deactivated, and this affects the amount of available H2O2 and, consequently, of the iodine. Hence, the color is significantly changed. The color changes can be easily detected with bare eyes. The assay has a linear response in the 5 to 70 μM concentration range, with a detection limit of 1.3 μM and high selectivity for ATZ. It was applied to the determination of ATZ in water and food samples.

A multicolor colorimetric method is developed for aminotriazole (ATZ) detection based on catalase (CAT) deactivation-dependent longitudinal etching of gold nanorods (AuNRs). The color signals can be visually identified. Good detection performances and capability for evaluating ATZ level in water and food samples is demonstrated.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the financial support through the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21605008, 21575018, 21735001, 21705010), and the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2019JJ30025).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Materials Protection for Electric Power and Transportation, Hunan Provincial Engineering Research Center for Food Processing of Aquatic Biotic Resources, School of Chemistry and Food Engineering, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha, 410114, People’s Republic of China

    Younan Li, Guoyan Luo, Zhihe Qing, Xiaoxuan Li, Zhen Zou & Ronghua Yang

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  1. Younan Li
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  2. Guoyan Luo
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  3. Zhihe Qing
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  4. Xiaoxuan Li
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Correspondence to Zhihe Qing or Ronghua Yang.

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Li, Y., Luo, G., Qing, Z. et al. Colorimetric aminotriazole assay based on catalase deactivation-dependent longitudinal etching of gold nanorods. Microchim Acta 186, 565 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-019-3677-1

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