A Portable Smart-Phone Readout Device for the Detection of Mercury Contamination Based on an Aptamer-Assay Nanosensor
The detection of environmental mercury (Hg) contamination requires complex and expensive instruments and professional technicians. We present a simple, sensitive, and portable Hg2+ detection system based on a smartphone and colorimetric aptamer nanosensor. A smartphone equipped with a light meter ap...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2016-11-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/11/1871 |
| _version_ | 1811184970892312576 |
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| author | Wei Xiao Meng Xiao Qiangqiang Fu Shiting Yu Haicong Shen Hongfen Bian Yong Tang |
| author_facet | Wei Xiao Meng Xiao Qiangqiang Fu Shiting Yu Haicong Shen Hongfen Bian Yong Tang |
| author_sort | Wei Xiao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The detection of environmental mercury (Hg) contamination requires complex and expensive instruments and professional technicians. We present a simple, sensitive, and portable Hg2+ detection system based on a smartphone and colorimetric aptamer nanosensor. A smartphone equipped with a light meter app was used to detect, record, and process signals from a smartphone-based microwell reader (MR S-phone), which is composed of a simple light source and a miniaturized assay platform. The colorimetric readout of the aptamer nanosensor is based on a specific interaction between the selected aptamer and Hg2+, which leads to a color change in the reaction solution due to an aggregation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The MR S-phone-based AuNPs-aptamer colorimetric sensor system could reliably detect Hg2+ in both tap water and Pearl River water samples and produced a linear colorimetric readout of Hg2+ concentration in the range of 1 ng/mL–32 ng/mL with a correlation of 0.991, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.28 ng/mL for Hg2+. The detection could be quickly completed in only 20 min. Our novel mercury detection assay is simple, rapid, and sensitive, and it provides new strategies for the on-site detection of mercury contamination in any environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:21:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7917907917ed46119c559c9d290ecdcf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:21:35Z |
| publishDate | 2016-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-7917907917ed46119c559c9d290ecdcf2022-12-22T04:22:11ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202016-11-011611187110.3390/s16111871s16111871A Portable Smart-Phone Readout Device for the Detection of Mercury Contamination Based on an Aptamer-Assay NanosensorWei Xiao0Meng Xiao1Qiangqiang Fu2Shiting Yu3Haicong Shen4Hongfen Bian5Yong Tang6Department of Bioengineering, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, ChinaDepartment of Bioengineering, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, ChinaDepartment of Bioengineering, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, ChinaDepartment of Bioengineering, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, ChinaDepartment of Bioengineering, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, ChinaDepartment of Bioengineering, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, ChinaDepartment of Bioengineering, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Antibody Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, ChinaThe detection of environmental mercury (Hg) contamination requires complex and expensive instruments and professional technicians. We present a simple, sensitive, and portable Hg2+ detection system based on a smartphone and colorimetric aptamer nanosensor. A smartphone equipped with a light meter app was used to detect, record, and process signals from a smartphone-based microwell reader (MR S-phone), which is composed of a simple light source and a miniaturized assay platform. The colorimetric readout of the aptamer nanosensor is based on a specific interaction between the selected aptamer and Hg2+, which leads to a color change in the reaction solution due to an aggregation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The MR S-phone-based AuNPs-aptamer colorimetric sensor system could reliably detect Hg2+ in both tap water and Pearl River water samples and produced a linear colorimetric readout of Hg2+ concentration in the range of 1 ng/mL–32 ng/mL with a correlation of 0.991, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.28 ng/mL for Hg2+. The detection could be quickly completed in only 20 min. Our novel mercury detection assay is simple, rapid, and sensitive, and it provides new strategies for the on-site detection of mercury contamination in any environment.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/11/1871smartphonemicrowell readermercury ionscolorimetric aptamer nanosensorgold nanoparticle |
| spellingShingle | Wei Xiao Meng Xiao Qiangqiang Fu Shiting Yu Haicong Shen Hongfen Bian Yong Tang A Portable Smart-Phone Readout Device for the Detection of Mercury Contamination Based on an Aptamer-Assay Nanosensor Sensors smartphone microwell reader mercury ions colorimetric aptamer nanosensor gold nanoparticle |
| title | A Portable Smart-Phone Readout Device for the Detection of Mercury Contamination Based on an Aptamer-Assay Nanosensor |
| title_full | A Portable Smart-Phone Readout Device for the Detection of Mercury Contamination Based on an Aptamer-Assay Nanosensor |
| title_fullStr | A Portable Smart-Phone Readout Device for the Detection of Mercury Contamination Based on an Aptamer-Assay Nanosensor |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Portable Smart-Phone Readout Device for the Detection of Mercury Contamination Based on an Aptamer-Assay Nanosensor |
| title_short | A Portable Smart-Phone Readout Device for the Detection of Mercury Contamination Based on an Aptamer-Assay Nanosensor |
| title_sort | portable smart phone readout device for the detection of mercury contamination based on an aptamer assay nanosensor |
| topic | smartphone microwell reader mercury ions colorimetric aptamer nanosensor gold nanoparticle |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/11/1871 |
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