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A multifunctional fluorescent sensor for Ag+ and Hg2+ detection in seawater

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Abstract

In order to detect Ag+ and Hg2+ in seawater, we explored a multifunctional fluorescence sensor. A multifunctional Ag+ and Hg2+ sensor was designed by using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as quenching agent, PicoGreen dye as fluorescent probe of base pairing double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and combining the characteristics of Ag+ making C base mismatch and Hg2+ making T base mismatch. Meanwhile, the DNA logic gate was constructed by establishing logic circuit, truth table, and logic formula. The relevant performances of the sensor were investigated. The results revealed that the sensor can detect Ag+ in the range of 100 to 700 nM with R2 = 0.98129, and its detection limit is 16.88 nM (3σ/slope). The detection range of Hg2+is 100–900 nM with R2 = 0.99725, and the detection limit is 5.59 nM (3σ/slope). An AND-AND-NOR-AND molecular logic gate has been successfully designed. With the characteristics of high sensitivity, multifunction, and low cost, the recommended detection method has the potential to be applied to the detection of Ag+ and Hg2+ in seawater.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province (Grant No. 222MS008), the Hainan Province Science and Technology Special Fund (Grant No. ZDYF2020038), the Education Department of Hainan Province (Project number: Hnky2021-18), the Famous teachers’ Studio of Hainan University (Grant No. hdms202022), and the Educational and Teaching Reform Research Project of Hainan University (Grant No. hdjy2106).

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  1. College of Applied Science and Technology, Hainan University, Danzhou, 571737, China

    Jingjing Zhang, Ziqi Deng, Hongbo Feng, Bingqian Shao & Debing Liu

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  1. Jingjing Zhang
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  2. Ziqi Deng
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  3. Hongbo Feng
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  4. Bingqian Shao
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  5. Debing Liu
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Jingjing Zhang wrote the paper; Ziqi Deng performed the experiments; Hongbo Feng analyzed the data, and Bingqian Shao and Debing Liu conceived and designed the experiments.

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Correspondence to Bingqian Shao or Debing Liu.

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Zhang, J., Deng, Z., Feng, H. et al. A multifunctional fluorescent sensor for Ag+ and Hg2+ detection in seawater. Environ Monit Assess 196, 22 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-12217-2

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