Study on colorimetric detection of Hg2+ by gold nanoparticles modified with melamine and arginine

Development of a new sensor for the simple detection of Hg 2+ , which improves on the shortcomings of conventional mercury detection.The size of the nanogold(AuNPs) particles was controlled by controlling the amount of sodium citrate and gold salt. AuNPs was also functionalized by arginine and melamine. The functionalized nanogold was sensitive and selective for Hg 2+ . It is also useful in real water samples. The 32 nm nanogold modification had the lowest limit of detection (LOD). The melamine-functionalized 32 nm AuNPs had a LOD of 4.17 μmol/L, which was better than the arginine-functionalized 32 nm AuNPs with a LOD of 5 μmol/L.