Integrated deep eutectic system enrichment and AI-assisted high-throughput visual detection for Hg²⁺ in environmental...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Mercury ion (Hg²⁺) is a toxic environmental pollutant causing severe health issues.
• Conventional Hg²⁺ detection methods are complex and lack portability.
• AI-assisted methods and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) offer promising alternatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop a portable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly colorimetric sensing platform for Hg²⁺.
• Utilize a silver nanoparticles hydrophobic deep eutectic system (AgNPs-HDES) for Hg²⁺ enrichment and detection.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized AgNPs-HDES using silver nanoparticle-containing ethylene glycol.
• Employed ESP and DFT to study synthesis and enrichment mechanisms.
• Used smartphone imaging and YOLOv8 AI for high-throughput colorimetric analysis.

Main Results:

• Observed a clear color change (brownish-yellow to colorless) with increasing Hg²⁺ concentration.
• Achieved a linear detection range of 1-40 μmol·L^-1 with a detection limit of 0.23 μmol·L^-1.
• Demonstrated high recovery rates (90.3%–123%) in diverse environmental samples.

Conclusions:

• The AgNPs-HDES platform enables portable, rapid, and accurate Hg²⁺ detection.
• This AI-assisted system is valuable for simultaneous, high-throughput environmental monitoring.
• The approach offers an effective tool for tracking pollutants in various environmental matrices.