Colorimetric detection of potassium ions using aptamer-functionalized gold nanoparticles

Abstract

Herein, a simple and novel colorimetric method for detection of potassium ions (K+) was developed. The colorimetric experiments revealed that upon the addition of K+, the conformation of anti-K+ aptamer in solution changed from random coil structure to compact rigid G-quadruplex one. This compact rigid G-quadruplex structure could not protect AuNPs against K+-induced aggregation, and thus the visible color change from wine-red to blue-purple could be observed by the naked eye. The linear range of the colorimetric aptasensor covered a large variation of K+ concentration from 5nM to 1μM and the detection limit of 5nM was obtained. Moreover, this assay was able to detect K+ with high selectivity and had great potential applications.