Gold Nanoparticles Functionalized with Mercaptosuccinic Acid as a Means for Detecting Fe(III) Ions

The application of mercaptosuccinic acid-capped gold nanoparticles as a sensing probe for the colorimetric detection of Fe(III) is reported. The well-dispersed gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with a diameter of around 20 nm were obtained by a one-step reaction of tetrachloroauratic acid with mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA) as a reducing and capping agent, respectively. Fe(III) reportedly causes the aggregation of prepared MSA-capped AuNPs followed by a change in color and a shift to long wavelengths in the absorbance spectra. The resulting method allows for a visual and spectrophotometric Fe(III) determination with detection limits of 30 ng/mL and 23 ng/mL, respectively. MSA-capped AuNPs have been used as sensing probes for the detection of Fe(III) in drinking water samples with a detection limit that is much lower than the maximum permissible level of Fe(III) specified by official regulations (300 ng/mL).