The sensitive detection of Pb2+ is of significant importance for food safety, environmental monitoring, and human health care. To this end, a novel fluorescent biosensor, DNAzyme-functionalized R-phycoerythrin (DNAzyme-R-PE), was presented for Pb2+ analysis. The biosensor was prepared via the immobilization of Iowa Black® FQ-modified DNAzyme–substrate complex onto the surface of SPDP-functionalized R-PE. The biosensor produced a minimal fluorescence signal in the absence of Pb2+. However, Pb2+ recognition can induce the cleavage of substrate, resulting in a fluorescence restoration of R-PE. The fluorescence changes were used to measure sensitively Pb2+ and the limit of detection was 0.16 nM with a linear range from 0.5–75 nM. Furthermore, the proposed biosensor showed excellent selectivity towards Pb2+ even in the presence of other metal ions interferences and was demonstrated to successfully determine Pb2+ in spiked lake water samples.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.