A low-cost paper-based aptasensor for simultaneous trace-level monitoring of mercury (II) and silver (I) ions

Mercury (Hg2+) and silver (Ag+) ions possess the harmful effects on public health and environment that makes it essential to develop the sensing techniques with great sensitivity for the ions. Metal ions commonly coexist in the different biological and environmental systems. Hence, it is an urgent demand to design a simple method for the simultaneous detection of metal ions, peculiarly in the case of coexisting Hg2+ and Ag+. This study introduces a low-cost paper-based aptasensor to monitor Hg2+ and Ag+, simultaneously. The strategy of the sensing array is according to the conformational changes of Hg2+- and Ag+-specific aptamers and their release from the GO surface after the injection of the target sample on the sensing platform. Through monitoring the fluorescence recovery changes against the concentrations of the ions, Hg2+ and Ag+ can be determined as low as 1.33 and 1.01 pM. The paper-based aptasensor can simultaneously detect the ions within about 10 min. The aptasensor is applied prosperously to monitor Hg2+ and Ag+ in human serum, water, and milk. The designed aptasensor with the main advantages of simplicity and feasibility holds the supreme potential to develop a cost-effective sensing method for environmental monitoring, food control, and human diagnostics. [Display omitted] •An aptasensor was developed for the simultaneous detection of Hg2+ and Ag+.•Hg2+ and Ag+ were detected with the LODs of 1.33 and 1.01 pM, respectively.•The target detection was done within about 10 min.•The simple aptasensor was applied in the real samples.