Gold nanorod-based mercury sensor using functionalized glass substrates

Abstract We report on the development of a gold nanorod-based mercury sensor, immobilizing these anisotropic metal nanoparticles on glass substrates. This novel approach is expected to find applications in the measurement of mercury traces in stream-flow. We present first a “modified” wet chemistry procedure to functionalize glass surfaces with gold nanorods, which confer control on the density of particles on the glass substrate. Then, we demonstrate that this mercury sensor, using immobilized gold nanorods on glass substrates, retains the outstanding selectivity of our previously reported mercury sensor using suspended gold nanorods, presents an extraordinary sensitivity and, does not require any sample separation and/or sample pre-concentration. The analytical figures of merit demonstrate precise and accurate analysis at the parts-per-billion level, figures with great potential for monitoring low levels of mercury in flowing water. The entire procedure in solution takes less than 60 s.

[1]  R. Kaner,et al.  QCM based mercury vapor sensor modified with polypyrrole supported palladium , 2011 .

[2]  C. Murphy,et al.  Quantitation of metal content in the silver-assisted growth of gold nanorods. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[3]  Chuan He,et al.  Design of an emission ratiometric biosensor from MerR family proteins: a sensitive and selective sensor for Hg2+. , 2007, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[4]  Genhua Wu,et al.  A novel fluorescent array for mercury (II) ion in aqueous solution with functionalized cadmium selenide nanoclusters. , 2006, Analytica chimica acta.

[5]  L. Capitán-Vallvey,et al.  Irreversible optical test strip for mercury determination based on neutral ionophore , 2004 .

[6]  Milena Horvat,et al.  The impact of long-term past exposure to elemental mercury on antioxidative capacity and lipid peroxidation in mercury miners. , 2004, Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements.

[7]  Andrew J Percy,et al.  Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of inorganic mercury and methylmercury driven by their different coordination chemistry towards thiols. , 2007, Journal of chromatography. A.

[8]  S. Gangadharan,et al.  Development of a ‘collect and punch’ cold vapour inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric method for the direct determination of mercury at nanograms per litre levels , 1998 .

[9]  Paul J. Worsfold,et al.  Determination of mercury in filtered sea-water by flow injection with on-line oxidation and atomic fluorescence spectrometric detection , 1996 .

[10]  T. Baughman.  Elemental Mercury Spills , 2005, Environmental health perspectives.

[11]  M. El-Sayed,et al.  Simulation of the Optical Absorption Spectra of Gold Nanorods as a Function of Their Aspect Ratio and the Effect of the Medium Dielectric Constant , 1999 .

[12]  Ewa Bulska,et al.  Determination of Mercury by Cold-Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry with Preconcentration on a Gold-Trap , 2000 .

[13]  Li-Ping Yu,et al.  Flow injection on-line sorption preconcentration coupled with cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry and on-line oxidative elution for the determination of trace mercury in water samples , 2004 .

[14]  Yu. A. Vil’pan,et al.  Direct atomic absorption determination of mercury in drinking water and urine using a two-step electrothermal atomizer , 2005 .

[15]  Yang Chen,et al.  Detection of mercury ions (Hg2+) in urine using a terbium chelate fluorescent probe , 2011 .

[16]  Mostafa A. El-Sayed,et al.  Preparation and Growth Mechanism of Gold Nanorods (NRs) Using Seed-Mediated Growth Method , 2003 .

[17]  A. Renzoni,et al.  Mercury levels along the food chain and risk for exposed populations. , 1998, Environmental research.

[18]  E. Gil,et al.  Gold nanoparticles-modified screen-printed carbon electrodes for anodic stripping voltammetric determination of mercury in ambient water samples , 2012 .

[19]  Chad A Mirkin,et al.  Colorimetric detection of mercuric ion (Hg2+) in aqueous media using DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles. , 2007, Angewandte Chemie.

[20]  A. Gies,et al.  Potential for secondary poisoning and biomagnification in marine organisms. , 1997, Chemosphere.

[21]  Chih-Ching Huang,et al.  Control over surface DNA density on gold nanoparticles allows selective and sensitive detection of mercury(II). , 2008, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[22]  E. A. Wachter,et al.  Detection of mercury vapor using resonating microcantilevers , 1995 .

[23]  Stephen J Lippard,et al.  Turn-on and ratiometric mercury sensing in water with a red-emitting probe. , 2007, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[24]  D. Dionysiou,et al.  Sources and remediation for mercury contamination in aquatic systems--a literature review. , 2004, Environmental pollution.

[25]  Michael Sepaniak,et al.  Microcantilever transducers: a new approach in sensor technology. , 2002, Analytical chemistry.

[26]  Matthew M. Rex,et al.  Pushing the limits of mercury sensors with gold nanorods. , 2006, Analytical chemistry.

[27]  S. Ibeas,et al.  A selective and highly sensitive fluorescent probe of Hg2+ in organic and aqueous media: The role of a polymer network in extending the sensing phenomena to water environments , 2011 .

[28]  J. Hickman,et al.  Direct visualization of molecular scale chemical adsorptions on solids using plasmonic nanoparticle arrays , 2010 .

[29]  R. Handy,et al.  Dose-dependent inorganic mercury absorption by isolated perfused intestine of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, involves both amiloride-sensitive and energy-dependent pathways. , 2005, Aquatic toxicology.

[30]  Itamar Willner,et al.  Amplified surface plasmon resonance based DNA biosensors, aptasensors, and Hg2+ sensors using hemin/G-quadruplexes and Au nanoparticles. , 2011, Chemistry.

[31]  Elizabeth M. Nolan,et al.  Tools and tactics for the optical detection of mercuric ion. , 2008, Chemical reviews.

[32]  Yanlian Yang,et al.  Detection of trace Hg2+ via induced circular dichroism of DNA wrapped around single-walled carbon nanotubes. , 2008, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[33]  Jingming Gong,et al.  Monodispersed Au nanoparticles decorated graphene as an enhanced sensing platform for ultrasensitive stripping voltammetric detection of mercury(II) , 2010 .

[34]  Khalil Farhadi,et al.  Highly selective Hg2+ colorimetric sensor using green synthesized and unmodified silver nanoparticles , 2012 .

[35]  J. Durrant,et al.  Reversible colorimetric probes for mercury sensing. , 2005, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[36]  D W Boening,et al.  Ecological effects, transport, and fate of mercury: a general review. , 2000, Chemosphere.

[37]  J. Donoghue,et al.  Baseline sediment trace metals investigation: Steinhatchee River estuary, Florida, Northeast Gulf of Mexico , 1999 .

[38]  Chih-Ching Huang,et al.  Detection of mercury(II) based on Hg2+ -DNA complexes inducing the aggregation of gold nanoparticles. , 2008, Chemical communications.

[39]  Itamar Willner,et al.  Optical analysis of Hg2+ ions by oligonucleotide-gold-nanoparticle hybrids and DNA-based machines. , 2008, Angewandte Chemie.

[40]  Guo-Li Shen,et al.  An optical fiber chemical sensor for mercury ions based on a porphyrin dimer. , 2002, Analytical chemistry.

[41]  Abbas Afkhami,et al.  Construction of a modified carbon paste electrode for the highly selective simultaneous electrochemical determination of trace amounts of mercury(II) and cadmium(II) , 2012 .

[42]  R. Eisler.  Health Risks of Gold Miners: A Synoptic Review , 2003, Environmental geochemistry and health.

[43]  Jerry R. Miller,et al.  Dispersal of mercury-contaminated sediments by geomorphic processes, sixmile canyon, Nevada, USA: Implications to site characterization and remediation of fluvial environments , 1996 .