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Ultrasensitive SERS detection of mercury based on the assembled gold nanochains
Liguang Xu1, Honghong Yin1, Wei Ma1
1State Key Lab of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, PR China.
Abstract:
Mercuric ions (Hg(2+)) mediate the transformation of single-stranded DNA to form double helical DNA by T-Hg(2+)-T interaction between base pairs. With this strategy, DNA modified gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were assembled into chains which were displayed remarkable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) signal. Under optimized conditions, the length of gold nanochains was directly proportional to the mercuric ions concentrations over 0.001-0.5 ng mL(-1) and the limit of detection (LOD) in drinking water was as low as 0.45 pg mL(-1). With ultrasensitivity and excellent selectivity, this feasible and simple method is potentially as a promising tool for monitoring of mercury ions in food safety and environmental applications.
