Ultrasensitive detection of mercury with a novel one-step signal amplified lateral flow strip based on gold nanoparticle-labeled ssDNA recognition and enhancement probes.
A novel one-step signal amplified lateral flow strip (SA-LFS) is described for direct ultrasensitive and on-site detection of Hg(2+) based on the specific recognition system of thymine-Hg(2+)-thymine using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as labeling tags. The signal was also amplified by hybridization induced dual labeling of AuNPs, which increased signal intensity of test line on strips. The presence of both probes on the LFS enabled both sensing and signal amplification to be achieved in a single step. The resulting SA-LFS is capable of rapid and ultrasensitive detection of Hg(2+) with LODs of 0.005 ppb and 0.0015 ppb by visual observation and quantitative analysis, respectively. At least 40-fold improvement in sensitivity of the traditional LFS was achieved through this signal amplification process. The successful application of the method to the determination of Hg(2+) in water sample is reported. The proposed signal amplification process may also be applicable to other LFS-based methods.
School of Biotechnology & Food Engineering, Anhui Provincial Key Lab of Functional Materials & Devices, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, PR China.
Mengya
M
Zhu
Department of Materials Science & Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, PR China.
Ying
Y
Wang
School of Biotechnology & Food Engineering, Anhui Provincial Key Lab of Functional Materials & Devices, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, PR China.
Yi
Y
Deng
School of Biotechnology & Food Engineering, Anhui Provincial Key Lab of Functional Materials & Devices, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, PR China.
Li
L
Yao
School of Biotechnology & Food Engineering, Anhui Provincial Key Lab of Functional Materials & Devices, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, PR China; School of Applied Sciences & Engineering, Monash University, Churchill, Victoria 3842, Australia.
Samuel
S
B Adeloju
Department of Materials Science & Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, PR China.
Daodong
D
Pan
School of Biotechnology & Food Engineering, Anhui Provincial Key Lab of Functional Materials & Devices, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, PR China.
Feng
F
Xue
School of Biotechnology & Food Engineering, Anhui Provincial Key Lab of Functional Materials & Devices, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, PR China.
Yucheng
Y
Wu
School of Biotechnology & Food Engineering, Anhui Provincial Key Lab of Functional Materials & Devices, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, PR China. Electronic address: lei.zheng@hfut.edu.cn.
Lei
L
Zheng
School of Biotechnology & Food Engineering, Anhui Provincial Key Lab of Functional Materials & Devices, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, PR China. Electronic address: chenweishnu@163.com.
Wei
W
Chen
D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D013941:Thymine / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis*
D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D014867:Water; D006046:Gold; D008628:Mercury; D013941:Thymine
Food safety; Gold nanoparticles; Hg(2+) detection; Lateral flow strip; Signal amplification