A novel cationic triazatetrabenzcorrole: selective detection of mercury(ii) by nucleic acid-induced aggregation

Abstract

In the present work, a novel water-soluble cationic triazatetrabenzcorrole compound was synthesised. Its aggregation and fluorescence quenching properties are demonstrated by serval methods, such as UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopic studies and naked-eye visualization. Unlike the traditional Hg²⁺ sensor based on thymine–Hg²⁺–thymine, we use a novel approach, exploiting the high affinity of Hg²⁺ for sulfur in phosphorothioate DNA. Based on the S–Hg²⁺–S pairs, we designed the phosphorothioate DNA T4G4-S3 as an Hg²⁺ sensor, which can detect Hg²⁺ sensitively and selectively in aqueous solution. And this sensing system is fairly fast and convenient.