A Sensitive DNAzyme-Based Chiral Sensor for Lead Detection

Hua Kuang; Honghong Yin; Changrui Xing; Chuanlai Xu

doi:10.3390/ma6115038

A Sensitive DNAzyme-Based Chiral Sensor for Lead Detection

Materials (Basel). 2013 Nov 1;6(11):5038-5046. doi: 10.3390/ma6115038.

Authors

Hua Kuang¹, Honghong Yin², Changrui Xing³, Chuanlai Xu³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Lab of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China. kuangh@jiangnan.edu.cn.
² State Key Lab of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China. yin0713@126.com.
³ State Key Lab of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China. da_rui12345@163.com.

Abstract

A DNAzyme-based sensor for the determination and quantification of lead ions (Pb²⁺) has been established, which combines the recognition and catalysis of DNAzyme with the optical properties of nanomaterials. Circular dichroism (CD) signals were obtained by a DNAzyme-based assembly of asymmetric silver nanoparticle (AgNPs) dimers. A good linear relationship between CD signals and Pb²⁺ concentration was obtained ranging from 0.05 ng∙mL^-1 to 10 ng∙mL^-1 with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.02 ng∙mL^-1. The specificity of this sensor in lead ion detection was excellent, and a satisfactory recovery was obtained in the analysis of tap water samples. The proposed technique possesses both high sensitivity and good specificity, giving it great potential for the analysis of Pb²⁺ in water.

Keywords: DNAzyme; circular dichroism (CD); detection; lead; sensor.