Abstract
In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a high-performance mercury ion sensor with sub-nM detection limit, high selectivity, and strong practicability based on the small molecule of the 4-mercaptopyridine (4-MPY) modified tilted fiber Bragg grating surface plasmon resonance (TFBG-SPR) sensing platform. The TFBG-SPR sensor has a rich mode field distribution and a narrow bandwidth, which can detect the microscopic physical and chemical reactions on the sensor surface with high sensitivity without being disturbed by the external temperature. For the environmental compatibility and highly efficient capture of the toxic mercury ion, 4-MPY is modified on the sensor surface forming a stable (4-MPY)-Hg-(4-MPY) structure due to the specific combination between the nitrogen of the pyridine moiety and the Hg2+ via multidentate N-bonding. Moreover, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are connected to the sensor surface through the (4-MPY)-Hg-(4-MPY) structure, which could play an important role for signal amplification. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection of the sensor for mercury ions detection in the solution is as low as 1.643×10−10 M (0.1643nM), and the detection range is 1×10−9 M − 1×10−5 M. At the same time, the mercury ion spiked detection with tap water shows that the sensor has the good selectivity and reliability in actual water samples. We develop a valuable sensing technology for on-time environmental Hg2+ detection and in-vivo point of care testing in clinic applications.
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Acknowledgment
Thanks to Huizhen YUAN for the comments provided in the experimental design process. This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61520106013 and 61727816), Exchange Fund from Key Laboratory of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communications (Ministry of Education of China) (Grant No. ZYGX2019K006), the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities (Grant No. DUT19LAB32), and the Local Science and Technology Development Fund Projects guided by the central government (Grant No. 206Z4801G).
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Duan, Y., Zhang, Y., Wang, F. et al. 4-Mercaptopyridine Modified Fiber Optic Plasmonic Sensor for Sub-nM Mercury (II) Detection. Photonic Sens 12, 23–30 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-021-0611-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-021-0611-z