Label-free colorimetric nanosensor with improved sensitivity for Pb<sup>2+</sup> in water by using a truncated 8–17 DNAzyme

doi:10.1007/s11783-019-1094-7

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2019, Vol. 13

Issue (1) : 12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-019-1094-7

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Label-free colorimetric nanosensor with improved sensitivity for Pb²⁺ in water by using a truncated 8–17 DNAzyme

Abdul Ghaffar Memon^1,², Xiaohong Zhou¹(

), Yunpeng Xing¹, Ruoyu Wang¹, Lanhua Liu¹, Mohsin Khan¹, Miao He¹(

)

¹. Center for Sensor Technology of Environment and Health, State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
². Department of Environmental Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi 75270, Pakistan

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Abstract

• Unmodified-AuNP based, colorimetric nanosensor was constructed for Pb²⁺ detection.

• 5-nucleotide truncation in DNAzyme made complete substrate detachment upon Pb²⁺.

• Ultrasensitive and selective detection of Lead (II) was achieved with 0.2×10^-⁹ mol/L LOD.

Water pollution accidents, such as the Flint water crisis in the United States, caused by lead contamination have raised concern on the safety of drinking water distribution systems. Thus, the routine monitoring of lead in water is highly required and demands efficient, sensitive, cost-effective, and reliable lead detection methods. This study reports a label-free colorimetric nanosensor that uses unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as indicators to enable rapid and ultra-sensitive detection of lead in environmental water. The 8–17 DNAzyme was truncated in this study to facilitate the detachment of single-stranded DNA fragments after substrate cleavage in the presence of Pb²⁺. The detached fragments were adsorbed over AuNPs and protected against salt concentration-induced aggregation. Accordingly, high Pb²⁺ would result in rapid color change from blue to pink. The established sensing principle achieved a sensitive limit of detection of 0.2×10^-⁹ mol/L Pb²⁺, with a linear working range of two orders of magnitude from 0.5×10^-⁹ mol/L to 5×10^-⁹ mol/L. The selectivity of the nanosensor was demonstrated by evaluating the interfering metal ions. The developed nanosensor can serve as a substitute for the rapid analysis and monitoring of trace lead levels under the drinking water distribution system and even other environmental water samples.

Keywords Colorimetric nanosensor Truncated 8–17 DNAzyme Pb²⁺ detection Unmodified AuNPs

Corresponding Author(s): Xiaohong Zhou,Miao He

Issue Date: 12 December 2018

Cite this article:

Abdul Ghaffar Memon,Xiaohong Zhou,Yunpeng Xing, et al. Label-free colorimetric nanosensor with improved sensitivity for Pb²⁺ in water by using a truncated 8–17 DNAzyme[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2019, 13(1): 12.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-019-1094-7
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2019/V13/I1/12

Fig.1 (a) Schematic flow of the sensing principle, which represents the five nucleotide truncation of the DNAzyme that enables a sequence dissociated after Pb²⁺ cleavage and adsorbs on the AuNPs to protect from aggregation against salt; (b) the substrate (17DS-5) and enzyme (17–5) sequences in hybridized state; (c) TEM image of the synthesized AuNPs at 20 nm scale; and (d) UV-absorbance spectra of the sample without and with addition of Pb²⁺ (inset: colorimetry of the aggregated and dispersed states of the AuNPs in the absence and presence of Pb²⁺).

Tab.1 Electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential of unmodified AuNPs

Fig.2 (a) Absorbance spectra of Pb²⁺ quantification in the order of curve 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.3. 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0, and 10.0×10^-⁹ mol/L, in the presence of DNAzyme (1×10^-⁶ mol/L), AuNP (8.68×10^-⁹ mol/L), NaCl 1 mol/L (inset: photograph, depicting visible change in color with concentration of Pb²⁺); (b) nonlinear logistic calibration curve representing concentration of Pb²⁺ in mol/L through absorption ratio of A₆₅₀/A₅₂₀ (Inset: linear range for Pb²⁺ detection).

Fig.3 (a) Selective detection of Pb²⁺ against eight competitive metal cations including Ag⁺, Al³⁺, Ca²⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Hg²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Zn²⁺ at concentration of 100×10^-⁹ mol/L in the presence of DNAzyme (1×10^-⁶ mol/L), AuNP (8.68×10^-⁹ mol/L), NaCl 1 mol/L. Variation in the absorbance ratio A₆₅₀/A₅₂₀ observed for other metal cations. (b) Colorimetric representation of the selective trials.

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