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Updated: Feb 17, 2026
Design and Development of Aptamer–Gold Nanoparticle Based Colorimetric Assays for In-the-field Applications
Published on: June 23, 2016
Smartphone-based colorimetric chiral recognition of ibuprofen using aptamers-capped gold nanoparticles
Jing Ping1, Zhenjiang He1, Jianshe Liu1
1State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Pollution Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Sensitive and fast detection of ibuprofen enantiomers is very critical for required routine monitoring and risk assessment of trace pollutants in water samples. Here a simple, rapid and highly sensitive android smartphone application for chiral recognition was developed. Aptamer-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was demonstrated as an efficient detection platform for (S)-(+)-ibuprofen (S-Ibu) and (R)-(-)-ibuprofen (R-Ibu). Detachment of an enantioselective aptamer from the AuNPs surface and binding with an enantiomer of Ibu lead to AuNPs aggregation, which allows a rapid enantiodiscrimination of Ibu by monitoring the absorbance changes of AuNPs solution in the UV-vis spectrum. Under optimal conditions, the limit of detection for S-Ibu and R-Ibu was 1.24 and 3.91 pg/mL, respectively. These probes showed good chiral recognition ability in mixed samples (i.e. S-Ibu + R-Ibu) and environmental samples. These advantages can be further developed by quantitative measurement with smartphone, which opens new opportunities for on-site detection of trace chiral pollutants in a simple and practical manner.
