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ORIGINAL PAPER
Colorimetric detection of L-histidine based on the target-triggered
self-cleavage of swing-structured DNA duplex-induced aggregation
of gold nanoparticles
Yunfei Jiao
1
&Qingyun Liu
2
&Hong Qiang
1
&Zhengbo Chen
1
Received: 8 August 2018 / Accepted: 29 August 2018 / Published online: 12 September 2018
#Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract
A rapid, highly sensitive and selective colorimetric assay is presented forvisuallydetecting L-histidine. It is based onL-histidine-
triggered self-cleavage of DNA duplex-induced gold nanoparticle (AuNP) aggregation. The citrate-capped AuNPs easily aggre-
gate in a high concentration of salt environment. However, in the presence of L-histidine aptamers (DNA1 and DNA2), the partial
strands of DNA1 and DNA2 hybridize to form a DNAduplex with a swing structure. The swing-like DNA duplexes are adsorbed
on the surface of AuNPs to improve the stability of AuNPs, and the AuNPs also are better dispersed in high-salt media. WhenL-
histidine is added to the solutions, it catalyzes the self-cleavage of DNA1 to form many single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) frag-
ments. These ssDNA segments are adsorbed on the AuNPs and weaken the stability of AuNPs. Hence, the AuNPs aggregate in
high-salt environment, and this results in a red-to-blue color change. Under the optimized conditions, L-histidine can be
determined with a limit of detection of 3.6 nM. In addition, the sensor was successfully applied to the determination of L-
histidine in spiked serum samples.
Keywords Self-cleavage of DNA .Colorimetric assay .L-Histidine detection .Gold nanoparticle aggregation .Swing-like
duplex .Ratiometric assay .Visible color change .Serum samples .Catalysis
Introduction
L-Histidine (L-His), an essential amino acid in human and
mammal species, plays an essential role in the mammalian
central nervous system, the repair and growth of tissue, min-
imizing internal bleeding from microtrauma, and controlling
the transport of metals in biologically important bases [1,2].
An abnormal L-histidine level is an index of some diseases
including acute liver failure, rheumatoid arthritis, AIDS,
chronic kidney disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer
[3–8]. Therefore, the determination of L-histidine is extremely
important in biological fluids.
There are a number of methods for the detection of L-his-
tidine, such as including high performance liquid chromatog-
raphy (HPLC) [9], electrophoresis [10,11], mass spectrome-
try [12], fluorescence [13], and electrochemistry [14,15].
These approaches, while most successful, most of them show
poor selectivity, require time-consuming pre-treatment or so-
phisticated detection systems such as the use of organic sol-
vents. To circumvent these disadvantages, colorimetric
methods as a promising analytical technology, have been ex-
tensively used due to their simplicity, low cost, rapid/direct
readout with the bare eye, and no need to use expensive ana-
lytical instruments [16–24]. Therefore, it is still necessary and
important todevelop a low-cost, highly sensitive and selective
colorimetric method for scaling L-histidine.
Previous reports have demonstrated that single-stranded
DNA (ssDNA) can be absorbed on gold nanoparticle
A colorimetric assay for detecting L-histidine based on target L-histidine-
triggered self-cleavage of DNA duplex-induced AuNP aggregation.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article
(https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-018-2987-z) contains supplementary
material, which is available to authorized users.
*Hong Qiang
13691076492@163.com
*Zhengbo Chen
czb979216@sina.com
1
Department of Chemistry, Capital Normal University,
Beijing 100048, China
2
College of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shandong
University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Microchimica Acta (2018) 185: 452
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-018-2987-z
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