Improved detection of Hg~(2+) in aqueous solution with high sensitivity and selectivity by using mercury-specific DNA, Sybr Green I and gold nanoparticles

摘要

We report a label-free, fast, fluorescence turn on assay for Hg~(2+) detecton by using mercury-specific DNA (MSD), Sybr Green I (SG) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). SG efficiently discriminates MSD and MSD/Hg~(2+) complex. The addition of gold nanoparticle decreases the background fluorescence signal further for MSD. The fluorescence intensity of MSD/Hg~(2+) complex keeps constant after addition of AuNPs. This property improves the signal-to-background ratio and decreases the detection limitation further. In addition, the method shows improved selectivity compared with that in the absence of AuNPs. This strategy could be applied to the detection of potassium ions and showed good generality.