Fluorescent Gold Nanoprobes for the Sensitive and Selective Detection for Hg.

A simple, cost-effective yet rapid and sensitive sensor for on-site and real-time Hg(2+) detection based on bovine serum albumin functionalized fluorescent gold nanoparticles as novel and environmentally friendly fluorescent probes was developed. Using this probe, aqueous Hg(2+) can be detected at 0.1 nM in a facile way based on fluorescence quenching. This probe was also applied to determine the Hg(2+) in the lake samples, and the results demonstrate low interference and high sensitivity. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11671-010-9730-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.