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Detection of mercury ions using graphene oxide sensors assisted by Ag@SiO2

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Abstract

DNA sequences containing a polycytosine (Poly-C) can be strongly adsorbed on the surface of graphene oxide (GO) to enhance the physical adsorption between GO and DNA. Hg2+ can specifically bind to single-stranded DNA sequence with thiophosphate cleavage site (PS), and fluorescence is restored according to the principle of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The LOD of Poly-C PS 1 site sensor was 1.11 nM. The LOD of Poly-C PS 2 sites sensor was 0.84 nM. In order to improve the detection signal of Hg2+, the ultra-thin silica shell (SiO2) was covered with metal nanomaterial Ag (Ag@SiO2), which improved the stability and the sensitivity of biosensors. The LOD of the two sensors decreased to 0.36 nM and 0.15 nM, respectively. This sensor was also used for Hg2+ detection in dendrobium.This shows that the method is promising.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20181444) of China, Jiangsu Province and Education Ministry Co-sponsored Synergistic Innovation Center of Modern Agricultural Equipment (XTCX2026) and China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-21).

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  1. Bangxing Han

    Present address: College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, West Anhui University, Moon Island, Lu’an, 237012, People’s Republic of China

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  1. Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, People’s Republic of China

    Qiuxiang Lv, Ni Xia & Li Gao

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  1. Qiuxiang Lv
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  2. Ni Xia
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Correspondence to Li Gao or Bangxing Han.

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Lv, Q., Xia, N., Gao, L. et al. Detection of mercury ions using graphene oxide sensors assisted by Ag@SiO2. Appl Nanosci 13, 3787–3796 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-022-02555-x

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