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Fabrication of glass-based analytical devices by immobilizing nanomaterials on glass substrate with a fluorescent glue for the highly sensitive determination of mercury ions

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Abstract

A facile method is reported to develop glass-based analytical devices (GADs) based on immobilizing nanomaterials on a glass substrate with fluorescent glue. The fluorescent glue was first prepared by coupling bovine serum albumin (BSA)-protected Au nanoclusters (NCs) and sugars (i.e., ascorbic acid, AA). The glue was then used to immobilize carbon dots (C-dots) on glass substrates to fabricate the portable GADs. The liquid glue-C-dots mixture and probable GADs were developed for Hg2+ detection. Under 365-nm excitation wavelength, the emission at 652 nm from the glue is gradually quenched with increasing concentrations of Hg2+. This quenching is explained in terms of the Stern-Volmer equation and is ascribed to static quenching. The fluorescent color of the glue and GADs gradually changes from pink to blue, with increasing concentrations of Hg2+. The limits of detection (LODs) for Hg2+ determination by bare eyes are 1 nM both for the glue and GADs, suggesting an uncompromised sensing capability even after immobilization. The detection sensitivity of GADs shows a significant improvement compared with the same material-based papers (5 μM). A linear relationship is observed between the total Euclidean distances (EDs) and Hg2+ concentration in the range 0–100 nM, providing the potential for Hg2+ quantification using GADs. The LOD is estimated to be 0.84 nM. To show a potentially practical application, the GADs were used to detect Hg2+ in certified reference material and lake water.

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Funding

This work is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (52171157), the Outstanding Youth Science Foundation Project of Henan Province (222300420063), the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (222300420255), and the Talent Launch Fund of Anqing Normal University (231056).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mathematics and Physics, Anqing Normal University, Anqing, 246133, China

    Yumin Leng, Anyi Wang & Liwei Zhang

  2. Henan International Joint Laboratory of MXene Materials Microstructure, College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, 473061, China

    Panpan Qu, Yuchen Dong, Pei Han & Jinbing Cheng

  3. Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering (NIMTE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, 315201, China

    Kai Jiang

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  1. Yumin Leng
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  2. Panpan Qu
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Correspondence to Yumin Leng, Jinbing Cheng or Liwei Zhang.

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Leng, Y., Qu, P., Wang, A. et al. Fabrication of glass-based analytical devices by immobilizing nanomaterials on glass substrate with a fluorescent glue for the highly sensitive determination of mercury ions. Microchim Acta 190, 333 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-023-05875-z

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