Picomolar-level detection of mercury within non-biological/biological aqueous media using ultra-sensitive polyaniline-Fe3O4-silver diethyldithiocarbamate nanostructure

• Published in: Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry 2020-09, Vol.412 (22), p.5353-5365
• Main Authors: Hashemi, Seyyed Alireza, Mousavi, Seyyed Mojtaba, Bahrani, Sonia, Ramakrishna, Seeram, Hashemi, Seyyed Hamid
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Aqueous solutions; Bioaccumulation; Biochemistry; Biodegradability; Biodegradation; Blood plasma; Carbon dioxide; Carcinogens; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Cobalt; Copper; Electrodes; Food chains; Food Science; Glassy carbon; Iron oxides; Laboratory Medicine; Lead; Mercury; Mercury (metal); Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Nanostructure; Nickel; Pollutants; Polyanilines; Reproducibility; Research Paper; Selectivity; Sensitivity enhancement; Silver; Zinc
• ISSN: 1618-2642; 1618-2650
• DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02750-1

Mercury as the 3rd most toxic, non-biodegradable, and carcinogenic pollutant can adversely affect the ecosystem and health of living species through its bioaccumulation within the nature that can affect the top consumer in the food chain; therefore, it is vital to sense/remove Hg 2+ within/from aqueous media using practical approaches. To address this matter, we modified the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with ultra-sensitive, interconnected, sulfurized, and porous nanostructure consisted of polyaniline-Fe 3 O 4 -silver diethyldithiocarbamate (PANi-F-S) to enhance the sensitivity, selectivity, and limit of detection (LOD) of the sensor. Obtained results showed that at optimum conditions (i.e., pH value of 7, deposition potential of − 0.8 V, and accumulation time of 120 s), for Hg 2+ concentration ranging from 0.4 to 60 nM, the modified electrode showing linear relative coefficient of 0.9983, LOD of 0.051 nM, LOQ of 0.14 nM, and sensitivity of 1618.86 μA μM −1  cm −2 highlights superior sensitivity of the developed platform until picomolar level. Additionally, the modified electrode showed ideal repeatability, stability, reproducibility, and selectivity (by considering Zn 2+ , Cd 2+ Pb 2+ , Cu 2+ , Ni 2+ , and Co 2+ as metal interferences) and recovered more than 99% of the Hg 2+ ions within non-biological (mineral, tap, and industrial waters) and biological (blood plasma sample) fluids. Graphical abstract