{
  "abstract": "Highly toxic inorganic mercury (Hg2+) and methylmercury (MeHg) are widespread heavy metal pollutants that negatively affect human health and ecosystems. Thus, developing a method for the rapid, facile, and visual detection of Hg2+ and MeHg to prevent mercury poisoning is urgent and challenging. In this study, a colorimetric biosensor using a thymine-rich (T-rich) HT9 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) aptamer serving as a recognition probe (RP) labeled with a thiol group (-SH) and poly diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride (PDDAC)-coated gold nanorods (AuNRs) as a signal probe (SP) was developed for the specific detection of Hg2+ and MeHg. In the presence of Hg2+, Ag0/Hg0 amalgam nanoparticles (ANPs) were formed and bound to the HT9 DNA aptamer, producing a light lavender color. Due to its stronger binding ability, MeHg showed priority binding to the HT9 DNA aptamer, yet reduced Ag0 NPs were deposited on the surface of PDDAC-coated AuNRs. Interestingly, this produced a color ranging from olive to atrovirens. The method exhibited a good linear relationship in ranges of 0.30–1.00 μM and 0.50–5.00 μM for Hg2+ and MeHg, respectively, with corresponding visual limits of detection (LODs) of 0.30 μM (for Hg2+) and 0.50 μM (for MeHg). Their theoretical LODs (3σ/S) were calculated to be 0.071 μM (for Hg2+) and 0.12 μM (for MeHg). The method used in this work was successfully applied to the colorimetric detection of Hg2+ and MeHg in real seawater samples, with a recovery (Rec.) of 98–107% and a relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 6) ≤ 8%. This method provides a useful technical reference for the semi-quantitative determination of Hg2+ and MeHg in drinking water and aquatic products, especially in the case of accident-level contamination.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Food Engineering, Zhangzhou Institute of Technology, Zhangzhou 363000, China",
    "School of Advanced Manufacturing, Fuzhou University, Quanzhou 362251, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhiqiang Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kangyao Zhang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9qc3j8rpzfy4p.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/molecules31213925",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "9qc3j8rpzfy4p",
  "issns": [
    "1420-3049"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/3925",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-01",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9qc3j8rpzfy4p.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T00:24:01Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/molecules31213925",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/3925"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "issn:1420-3049",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Developing an Aptamer-Based Colorimetric Method for Highly Specific Discrimination of Hg2+ and MeHg",
  "title_text": "Developing an Aptamer-Based Colorimetric Method for Highly Specific Discrimination of Hg2+ and MeHg",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T00:20:53Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9qc3j8rpzfy4p",
  "venue": "Molecules",
  "versions": []
}