Class-specific recognition and monitoring of environmental steroid estrogens in real water systems utilizing aptamer base substitution mutagenesis approach

Abstract

The same class of environmental steroid estrogens (SEs) with the highest estrogenic activity share the same chemical core structure and are often found together in the environment, posing significant risks to organismal health and environmental safety due to toxicity accumulation. In this study, a novel method for constructing the group-targeting aptasensor was developed to comprehensively analyze SEs. Through artificial intervention base substitution mutagenesis of adjacent bases T13 and C20 of the aptamer-binding domain recognizing 17β-estradiol, combined with docking calculations, the group-targeting SEs-aptamer for class-specific recognition SEs, such as estrone, estradiol, estriol, and ethinylestradiol were obtained. The binding constant of the SEs-aptamer to the SEs was 108 M−1. The established group-targeting SEs aptasensor exhibited high sensitivity within a concentration range from 0.1 to 10 nM and demonstrated strong interference resistance, as well as high stability and wide pH water applicability. It was further applied to analyze real water samples and monitor changes in SEs concentrations during the removal process by Chlorella pyrenoidosa. These successful applications have demonstrated the excellent ability of this aptasensor to monitor SE in the environment. The method offered a new approach and idea for recognizing and detecting the same class of environmental pollutants in complex systems.