Determination of Mercury(II) by Fluorescence Using Deoxyribonucleic Acid Stabilized Silver Nanoclusters

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) stabilized silver nanoclusters were synthesized and showed strong excitation at 724 nm and fluorescence emission at 768 nm. Upon the addition of mercury(II), the fluorescence of the DNA silver nanoclusters was quenched. The use of DNA silver nanoclusters as fluorescent sensors for mercury(II) was investigated in buffered media. A linear dynamic range from 1.90 × 10−9 M to 2.4 × 10−8 M was observed for mercury (II) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9977 and a limit of detection of 1.90 × 10−9 M. Excellent selectivity toward mercury(II) was observed against a variety of metal ions. The results demonstrate that silver nanoclusters have potential application for the determination of mercury (II).