MoS2 nanosheets for the detoxification of Hg2+ in living cells

A simple and green one-step method for the simultaneous exfoliation and functionalization of few-layered MoS2 nanosheets was developed via the ultrasonic treatment of bulk MoS2 powder in sodium phytate-containing aqueous solution. The as-prepared MoS2 nanosheets show high stability, low cytotoxicity and high adsorption capacity for Hg2+ in aqueous solution. The maximum adsorption capacity for Hg2+ is about 7.5 times and 3.7 times that of bulk MoS2 powder and unfunctionalized MoS2 nanosheets, respectively. The adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics indicate that the adsorption of Hg2+ is a monolayer chemical adsorption. Finally, the as-prepared MoS2 nanosheets were applied for the removal of Hg2+ in HepG2 cells and show a similar detoxification effect as that of the common antidote meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid, indicating the potential application of MoS2 nanosheets for biological detoxification.