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A naked eye aggregation assay for Pb2+ detection based on glutathione-coated gold nanostars

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Abstract

Gold nanostars (AuNS) with a mean hydrodynamic size of 40 nm, obtained with a seed-growth approach using a zwitterionic surfactant (laurylsulfobetaine, LSB), were successfully coated with glutathione (GSH), obtaining a stable and purified solid product which can be easily stored and re-dissolved on need in 0.1 M aqueous solution of Hepes buffered at pH 7. Upon exposure to micromolar concentrations of Pb2+ cation, the GSH-coated nano-objects undergo a fast aggregation followed by sedimentation leading to complete precipitation in about an hour. The subsequent disappearing of the intense LSPR extinction can of course be followed spectrophotometrically but, most importantly, can be easily detected with the naked eye. No signs of this event are noticed when other divalent cations are added to the colloidal suspension in the same condition. A careful investigation was performed to study this selectivity and the behaviour of aggregation as a function of time and Pb2+ cation concentration. We demonstrate that an easy, rapid, instrument-free, visual detection of micromolar levels of Pb2+ is thus possible with this assay, showing a good selectivity towards other investigated metal cations.

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Acknowledgments

Funding had been granted by Fondazione Cariplo (Bandi Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica sui Materiali Avanzati, 2010-0454), the Ministero dell’Istruzione, Università e Ricerca (MIUR). Authors also want to thank Vittorio Necchi and Centro Grandi Strumenti, for TEM images.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Pavia, viale Taramelli, 12, 27100, Pavia, Italy

    Agnese D’Agostino, Angelo Taglietti, Barbara Bassi, Alice Donà & Piersandro Pallavicini

Authors
  1. Agnese D’Agostino
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  2. Angelo Taglietti
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  3. Barbara Bassi
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  4. Alice Donà
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  5. Piersandro Pallavicini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angelo Taglietti.

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D’Agostino, A., Taglietti, A., Bassi, B. et al. A naked eye aggregation assay for Pb2+ detection based on glutathione-coated gold nanostars. J Nanopart Res 16, 2683 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-014-2683-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-014-2683-9

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