Abstract
Heavy metal pollution is one of the most serious concerns to human health because these substances are toxic and retained by the ecological system. Many efforts have been taken over the past few years for the detection of heavy metal ions in the environment. Incorporation of DNAzymes/DNA molecules (including T-T or C-C mismatches and G-quadruplexes) and nanomaterials into sensors can lead to significant improvement in the performance of sensors in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, multiplexed detection capability and portability. This review presents a recent advance in biosensors based on DNAzymesIDNA molecules functionalized nanostructures for heavy metal detection. Furthermore, advances in biosensing devices/chip based on this method for the detection of metal ions are summarized. This paper highlights the strategies for design of heavy metal biosensors benefiting from the use of DNAzymes/DNA molecules and nanomaterials. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.