Fluorescence quenching biosensor for acrylamide detection in food products based on double-stranded DNA and gold nanoparticles

Abstract

To protect human health from the side effects of acrylamide in heat-processed food samples, simple analytical approaches are highly desired to determine low concentrations of acrylamide. In this study, a simple, rapid and accurate fluorescent sensor was developed for detection of acrylamide based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and FAM-labeled double-stranded DNA (FAM-dsDNA). The sensing method was developed in a way to produce a remarkable fluorescence intensity difference in the absence and presence of acrylamide. In the presence of acrylamide, the single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and acrylamide adduct is formed. So that, FAM-labeled complementary strand DNA (FAM-csDNA) is free in the environment and adsorbed on the surface of AuNPs and as a result, the FAM is quenched by the AuNPs. Under optimized conditions, the presented fluorescent analytical approach showed high selectivity toward acrylamide with a wide linear response, 1 × 10−7 M–0.05 M, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 1 × 10−8 M for acrylamide. This new method indicated excellent analytical performance for acrylamide detection in potato fries water extract samples with LOD of 0.5 × 10−6 M.