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Quantitative colorimetric sensing of heavy metal ions via analyte-promoted growth of Au nanoparticles with timer or smartphone readout

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Abstract

This work describes two new colorimetric nanosensors for label-free, equipment-free quantitative detection of nanomolar copper (II) (Cu2+) and mercury (II) (Hg2+) ions. Both are based on the analyte-promoted growth of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) from the reduction of chloroauric acid by 4-morpholineethanesulfonic acid. For the Cu2+ nanosensor, the analyte can accelerate such a redox system to rapidly form a red solution containing dispersed, uniform, spherical AuNPs that is related to these particles’ surface plasmon resonance property. For the Hg2+ nanosensor, on the other hand, a blue mixture consisting of aggregated, ill-defined AuNPs with various sizes can be created, showing a significantly enhanced Tyndall effect (TE) signal (in comparison with that produced in the red solution of AuNPs). By using a timer and a smartphone to quantitatively measure the time of producing the red solution and the TE intensity (i.e., the average gray value of the corresponding image) of the blue mixture, respectively, the developed nanosensors are well demonstrated to achieve linear ranges of 6.4 nM to 100 μM and 6.1 nM to 1.56 μM for Cu2+ and Hg2+, respectively, with detection limits down to 3.5 and 0.1 nM, respectively. The acceptable recovery results obtained from the analysis of the two analytes in the complex real water samples including drinking water, tap water, and pond water ranged from 90.43 to 111.56%.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21874032 and 21765007), the Central Government-Guided Local Science and Technology Development Project (No. GuikeZY20198006), and the Guangxi Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 2018GXNSFFA281002).

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  1. Fei Hua and Fenglan Pan contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Electrochemical and Magnetochemical Function Materials, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Theory and Technology, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China

    Fei Hua, Fenglan Pan, Yongkang Yan, Xueer Huang, Yali Yuan, Jinfang Nie, Hua Wang & Yun Zhang

  2. Chinese Academy of Inspection & Quarantine Greater Bay Area, Zhongshan, 528400, China

    Juanhua Yang

  3. Huzhou Key Laboratory of Medical and Environmental Applications Technologies, School of Life Sciences, Huzhou University, Huzhou, 313000, China

    Hua Wang

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  1. Fei Hua
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Correspondence to Jinfang Nie, Hua Wang or Yun Zhang.

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Hua, F., Pan, F., Yang, J. et al. Quantitative colorimetric sensing of heavy metal ions via analyte-promoted growth of Au nanoparticles with timer or smartphone readout. Anal Bioanal Chem 415, 2705–2713 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04669-9

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