The principle of metal nanoparticle surface plasmon enhanced fluorophore fluorescence was applied to analyze the concentration of mercury ions in water. A nanostructure of Ag@SiO2-DNA-fluorophore was used to selectively detect Hg2+. Specially designed two ssDNAs hybridized in the presence of the Hg2+ target through the formation of base-Hg2+-base complexation; as a result, the Cy3 fluorophore in solution was brought to the surface of Ag@SiO2 core/shell nanostructures. By carefully controlling the thickness of the silica shell on the Ag nanoparticles, the fluorescence of Cy3 could be boosted by the surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles up to 2.5 times. This metal-enhanced fluorescence sensor provided high sensitivity and selectivity for the detection of Hg2+. This platform could also be varied to selectively detect Ag+ ions in water by changing the sequences of the ssDNAs, presenting broad detection potentials.

Metal-enhanced fluorescence Hg2+ biosensor

255th National Meeting (2018)

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