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Published on: August 26, 2009
Highly Sensitive Simultaneous Detection of Mercury and Copper Ions by Ultrasmall Fluorescent DNA-Ag Nanoclusters
Shengliang Li1, Weipeng Cao2, Anil Kumar2
1Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Nanosafety, Division of Nanomedicine and Nanobiology, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China, and CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China ; Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Fluorescent metal nanoclusters (NCs) have given rise to a new class of fluorescent nanomaterials for the detection of heavy metals. Here, we design a simple, rapid and highly sensitive sensing nanosystem for the detection of Hg2+ and Cu2+ based on fluorescence quenching of ultrasmall DNA-Ag NCs. The fluorescence intensity of DNA-Ag NCs was selectively quenched by Hg2+ and Cu2+, and the limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 5 nM and 10 nM, respectively. The technique was renewable employment by EDTA addition and successfully applied to detection of Hg2+ and Cu2+ in domestic water samples. The quantum yield (QY) of DNA-Ag NCs was significantly higher to ~30% compared to traditional water-soluble fluorescent metal NCs. The DNA-Ag NC detection system make it potentially suitable for detecting Hg2+ and Cu2+ and monitoring water quality in a wide range of samples regulated under the Environmental Protection Agency.
