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Simultaneous quantification of Hg²⁺ and MeHg⁺ in aqueous media with a single fluorescent probe by multiplexing in the
Ziqian Zhang1, Baoyan Zhang, Xuhong Qian
1State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, and ‡Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology , Shanghai, 200237 China.
Abstract:
Development of a molecular probe for selective detection of MeHg(+) in the presence of Hg(2+) is a mission impossible to accomplish. Speciation analysis of two substrates with a single kinetic trace exploiting their differential reactivity toward a single probe, i.e., multiplexing in the time domain, is a cost-effective and powerful alternative. We have developed such a probe (Hg410) for simultaneously quantification of Hg(2+) and MeHg(+) in aqueous media. Hg410 is designed via the "covalent-assembly" approach, displays a zero background, and bears a very concise molecular construct. It has harnessed proximity-based catalysis to achieve high reactivity toward Hg(2+) and MeHg(+). An unprecedentedly low detection limit of ca. 4.6 pM and 160 pM was measured for Hg(2+) and MeHg(+), respectively.
