title: A novel label-free fluorescence assay for one-step sensitive detection of Hg2+in environmental drinking water samples.
abstract: A novel label-free fluorescence assay for detection of Hg2+was developed based on the Hg2+-binding single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and SYBR Green I (SG I). Differences from other assays, the designed rich-thymine (T) ssDNA probe without fluorescent labelling can be rapidly formed a T-Hg2+-T complex and folded into a stable hairpin structure in the presence of Hg2+in environmental drinking water samples by facilitating fluorescence increase through intercalating with SG I in one-step. In the assay, the fluorescence signal can be directly obtained without additional incubation within 1 min. The dynamic quantitative working ranges was 5-1000 nM, the determination coefficients were satisfied by optimization of the reaction conditions. The lowest detection limit of Hg2+was 3 nM which is well below the standard of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This method was highly specific for detecting of Hg2+without being affected by other possible interfering ions from different background compositions of water samples. The recoveries of Hg2+spiked in these samples were 95.05-103.51%. The proposed method is more viable, low-costing and simple for operation in field detection than the other methods with great potentials, such as emergency disposal, environmental monitoring, surveillance and supporting of ecological risk assessment and management.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 73000, P. R. China.|Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control Technology for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Tianjin, 300050, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 73000, P. R. China.|Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control Technology for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Tianjin, 300050, P. R. China.|School of Public Health, State Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P. R. China.|Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 73000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 73000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 73000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yuwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control Technology for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Tianjin, 300050, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control Technology for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Tianjin, 300050, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control Technology for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Tianjin, 300050, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yapeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huo
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, State Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jiahai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control Technology for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Tianjin, 300050, P. R. China.|Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shuge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 73000, P. R. China.|Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control Technology for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Tianjin, 300050, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Caiqin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 73000, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yinhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control Technology for Environment and Food Safety, Tianjin Institute of Health and Environmental Medicine, Tianjin, 300050, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhixian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005453:Fluorescence; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D012015:Reference Standards; D013194:Staining and Labeling
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D008628:Mercury