DNAzyme crosslinked hydrogel: a new platform for visual detection of metal ionst

摘要

We propose the use of DNAzyme as a crosslinker of hydrogel to develop a catalytic platform for the sensing of metal ions. The DNAzyme crosslinked hydrogel can undergo gel-sol transition in response to Cu~(2+) ions, which enables sensitive visual detection of Cu~(2+) by observing the release of pre-trapped AuNPs. Hydrogels are soft materials with a crosslinked 3D network structure that contains a large fraction of water within their structure. In a hydrogel, the backbone molecules are held together by crosslinkers which keep the chains in the polymer matrix together, preventing the dissolution of the long molecular chains and increasing the mechanical stability of the hydrogel.