Pb (II) is a common environmental pollutant with high toxicity. According to the CDC, about 310,000 U.S. children ages 1 to 5 have high levels of lead in their blood and it is due to the  exposure to lead from toys and other products. As a result, the development of ultrasensitive assays for the real-time detection of Pb(II) from toy and paint is very important for environmental controlling, clinical toxicology, and industrial processes. Driven by the need to detect trace amounts of Pb(II) from environmental samples, here we report, a label free, highly selective and ultra sensitive glutathione modified gold nanoparticle based  dynamic light scattering (DLS) probe for Pb(II) recognition in 100 ppt level from  aqueous solution, with excellent discrimination against other heavy metals. The sensitivity of our assay to detect Pb(II) level in water is about 2 orders of magnitude higher than the EPA standard limit. We have also demonstrated that our DLS assay is capable of predicting the amount of Pb(II) in paint, toys and water from MS river. A possible mechanism and operating principles of our DLS assay have been discussed. Ultimately, this nanotechnology driven assay could have enormous potential applications in rapid, on-site monitoring of Pb(II) from day to day sample.

Gold nanoparticle based simple colorimetric and ultrasensitive dynamic light scattering assay for the selective detection of Pb(II) from paint, toy and environmental samples

241st National Meeting (2011)

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