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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Elsevier
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Sensors and Actuators Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666053925000694 |
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| author | Yuhuan Qin Wenxue Sun Joseph Brake Sulin Gao Qianqian Li Xinrong Zhu Jiang Bian Xiaobin Wu |
| author_facet | Yuhuan Qin Wenxue Sun Joseph Brake Sulin Gao Qianqian Li Xinrong Zhu Jiang Bian Xiaobin Wu |
| author_sort | Yuhuan Qin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d286a015a61e4ff0a50f361256a3ea09 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2666-0539 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors and Actuators Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-d286a015a61e4ff0a50f361256a3ea092025-08-20T03:22:33ZengElsevierSensors and Actuators Reports2666-05392025-12-011010035110.1016/j.snr.2025.100351A novel colorimetric lead ion detection method using lead-2′3-dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates to catalyze etching of gold nanostarsYuhuan Qin0Wenxue Sun1Joseph Brake2Sulin Gao3Qianqian Li4Xinrong Zhu5Jiang Bian6Xiaobin Wu7Development Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200234Development Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200234Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48109-0600Development Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200234Development Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200234Development Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200234Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai Everjoy Medical Polyclinic, 675 Minbei Road, Shanghai, China, 201107; Corresponding author at: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai Everjoy Medical Polyclinic, 675 Minbei Road, Shanghai, China, 201107.Development Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200234; Corresponding author at: Development Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200234.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.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666053925000694Lead ionsDMSAGold nanostarsRapid detectionFood safety |
| spellingShingle | Yuhuan Qin Wenxue Sun Joseph Brake Sulin Gao Qianqian Li Xinrong Zhu Jiang Bian Xiaobin Wu A novel colorimetric lead ion detection method using lead-2′3-dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates to catalyze etching of gold nanostars Sensors and Actuators Reports Lead ions DMSA Gold nanostars Rapid detection Food safety |
| title | A novel colorimetric lead ion detection method using lead-2′3-dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates to catalyze etching of gold nanostars |
| title_full | A novel colorimetric lead ion detection method using lead-2′3-dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates to catalyze etching of gold nanostars |
| title_fullStr | A novel colorimetric lead ion detection method using lead-2′3-dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates to catalyze etching of gold nanostars |
| title_full_unstemmed | A novel colorimetric lead ion detection method using lead-2′3-dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates to catalyze etching of gold nanostars |
| title_short | A novel colorimetric lead ion detection method using lead-2′3-dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates to catalyze etching of gold nanostars |
| title_sort | novel colorimetric lead ion detection method using lead 2 3 dimercaptosuccinic acid chelates to catalyze etching of gold nanostars |
| topic | Lead ions DMSA Gold nanostars Rapid detection Food safety |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666053925000694 |
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