A novel colorimetric lead ion detection method using lead-2′3-dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates to catalyze etching of gold nanostars
Lead ions are an environmental pollutant and a threat to human health. Traditional methods for detecting lead ions suffer disadvantages such as being time-consuming and expensive, therefore there is a need to develop simpler and faster methods. We developed an optimized spectroscopic method to detec...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Sensors and Actuators Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666053925000694 |
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| Summary: | Lead ions are an environmental pollutant and a threat to human health. Traditional methods for detecting lead ions suffer disadvantages such as being time-consuming and expensive, therefore there is a need to develop simpler and faster methods. We developed an optimized spectroscopic method to detect lead ions by first identifying a lead-specific chelator 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) which was screened using a novel biological screening system and verified by metal chromophore assays. Synthetic gold nanostars (GNSs) were explored for use as probes and we found that DMSA-Pb chelates catalyzed the etching of GNSs in solution resulting in a color change. We observed a change in the longitudinal local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak of GNSs in the presence of DMSA-Pb which could be measured in subsequent experiments. The optimized etching reaction displayed strong sensitivity and selectivity for Pb2+ and achieved a detection limit of 2 nM less than 2 min, which is well below the safety threshold of Pb2+ in environmental water and food. The Pb2+ contents of rice, beans, milk, grapes, peaches, and cabbage were detected by the DMSA-Pb GNSs method and were consistent with those of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Our study provides a novel and practical approach for rapid, safe, and cost-effective detection of lead ions. |
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| ISSN: | 2666-0539 |