A simple assay for ultrasensitive colorimetric detection of Ag+ at picomolar levels using platinum nanoparticles

Abstract

In this work, uniformly-dispersed platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) were synthesized by a simple chemical reduction method, in which citric acid and sodium borohydride acted as a stabilizer and reducer, respectively. An ultrasensitive colorimetric sensor for the facile and rapid detection of Ag+ ions was constructed based on the peroxidase mimetic activities of the obtained PtNPs, which can catalyze the oxidation of 3,3’,5,5’-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by H2O2 to produce colored products. The introduced Ag+ would be reduced to Ag0 by the capped citric acid, and the deposition of Ag0 on the PtNPs surface, can effectively inhibit the peroxidase-mimetic activity of PtNPs. Through measuring the maximum absorption signal of oxidized TMB at 652 nm, ultra-low detection limits (7.8 pM) of Ag+ can be reached. In addition to such high sensitivity, the colorimetric assay also displays excellent selectivity for other ions of interest and shows great potential for the detection of Ag+ in real water samples.