Facile Electrochemical Aptasensor Research Articles

An electrochemical aptasensor based on ACEK enrichment for detection of AFB1

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), known for its high toxicity, poses a serious threat to the agriculture and food chain, thereby impacting human health. Herein, a facile electrochemical aptasensor was developed based on alternating current electrokinetic enrichment for rapid and sensitive detection of AFB1. Alternating electric fields on the interdigital electrode array was introduced to improve the sensitivity and time, because the target could be manipulated for migrating from the solution to the sensing interface instead of aimless random motion, leading to the enrichment of the target. The biosensor achieved the trace detection of AFB1, demonstrating a remarkable detection limit of 9.55 × 10−6 ng/mL, and the linear range of 10−3–102 ng/mL. Furthermore, the biosensor was successfully employed for the detection of AFB1 in actual peanuts and peanut oil, demonstrating its great application potential in food analysis.

A facile electrochemical aptasensor for chloramphenicol detection based on synergistically photosensitization enhanced by SYBR Green I and MoS2

This study reports the development of a photocatalytic electrochemical aptasensor for the purpose of detecting chloramphenicol (CAP) antibiotic residues in water by utilizing SYBR Green I (SG) and chemically exfoliated MoS2 (ce-MoS2) as synergistically signal-amplification platforms. The Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) were electrodeposited onto the surface of an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. After that, the thiolate-modified cDNA, also known as capture DNA, was combined with the aptamer. Subsequently, photosensitized SG molecules and ce-MoS2 nanomaterial were inserted into the groove of the resultant double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). The activation of the photocatalytic process upon exposure to light resulted in the generation of singlet oxygen. The singlet oxygen effectively split the dsDNA, resulting in significant enhancement in the current of [Fe(CN)6]3-/4-. When the CAP was present, both SG molecules and ce-MoS2 broke away from the dsDNA, which turned off the photosensitization response, leading to significant reduction in the current of [Fe(CN)6]3-/4-. Under the optimal conditions, the aptasensor exhibited a linear relationship between the current of [Fe(CN)6]3-/4- with logarithmic concentrations of CAP from 20 to 1000 nM, with a detection of limit (3σ) of 3.391 nM. The aptasensor also demonstrated good selectivity towards CAP in the presence of interfering antibiotics, such as tetracycline, streptomycin, levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and sulfadimethoxine. Additionally, the results obtained from the analysis of natural water samples using the proposed aptasensor were consistent with the findings acquired through the use of a liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer. Therefore, with its simplicity and high selectivity, this aptasensor can potentially detect alternative antibiotics in environmental water samples by replacing the aptamers based on photosensitization.

Electrochemical Aptasensing of SARS-CoV-2 Based on Triangular Prism DNA Nanostructures and Dumbbell Hybridization Chain Reaction.

Development of convenient, accurate, and sensitive methods for rapid screening of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is highly desired. In this study, we have developed a facile electrochemical aptasensor for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 S1 protein amplified by dumbbell hybridization chain reaction (DHCR). A triangular prism DNA (TPDNA) nanostructure is first assembled and modified at the electrode interface. Due to the multiple thiol anchors, the immobilization is quite stable. The TPDNA nanostructure also provides an excellent scaffold for better molecular recognition efficiency on the top single-strand region (DHP0). The aptamer sequence toward the SARS-CoV-2 S1 protein is previously localized by partial hybridization with DHP0. In the presence of the target protein, the aptamer sequence is displaced and DHP0 is exposed. After further introduction of the fuel stands of DHCR, compressed DNA linear assembly occurs, and the product can be stacked on the TPDNA nanostructure for the enrichment of electrochemical species. This electrochemical method successfully detects the target protein in clinical samples, which provides a simple, robust, and accurate platform with great potential utility.

A Multifunctional N-Doped Cu-MOFs (N-Cu-MOF) Nanomaterial-Driven Electrochemical Aptasensor for Sensitive Detection of Deoxynivalenol.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most common mycotoxins in grains, causing gastrointestinal inflammation, neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity and embryotoxicity, even at a low quantity. In this study, a facile electrochemical aptasensor was established for the rapid and sensitive determination of DON based on a multifunctional N-doped Cu-metallic organic framework (N–Cu–MOF) nanomaterial. The N–Cu–MOF, with a large specific surface area and good electrical conductivity, served not only as an optimal electrical signal probe but also as an effective supporting substrate for stabilizing aptamers through the interactions of amino (-NH2) and copper. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed sensor provided a wide linear concentration range of 0.02–20 ng mL−1 (R2 = 0.994), showing high sensitivity, with a lower detection limit of 0.008 ng mL−1, and good selectivity. The sensor’s effectiveness was also verified in real spiked wheat samples with satisfactory recoveries of 95.6–105.9%. The current work provides a flexible approach for the rapid and sensitive analysis of highly toxic DON in food samples and may also be easily extended to detect other hazardous substances with alternative target-recognition aptamers.

A novel electrochemical aptasensor for fumonisin B1 determination using DNA and exonuclease-I as signal amplification strategy

In this work, using DNA and exonuclease-I (Exo-I) as signal amplification strategy, a novel and facile electrochemical aptasensor was constructed for fumonisin B1 (FB1) detection. The G-rich complementary DNA (cDNA) was immobilized onto the electrode surface. Then, aptamer of FB1 was hybridized with cDNA to form double-stranded DNA. In the absence of FB1, double-stranded DNA and G-rich cDNA on the electrode surface promoted effectively methylene blue (MB) enrichment and amplified the initial electrochemical response. In the presence of FB1, the combination of aptamer and FB1 led to the release of aptamer from the electrode surface and the expose of 3′ end of single-stranded cDNA. When Exo-I was added onto the electrode surface, the single-stranded cDNA was degraded in the 3′–5′ direction. The decrease of double-stranded DNA and G-rich cDNA resulted in the less access of MB to the electrode surface, which decreased the electrochemical signal. The experimental conditions including incubation time of FB1, the amount of Exo-I and incubation time of Exo-I were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the linear relationship between the change of peak current and the logarithmic concentration of FB1 was observed in the range of 1.0 × 10−3–1000 ng mL−1 with a low limit of detection of 0.15 pg mL−1. The experimental results showed that the prepared aptasensor had acceptable specificity, reproducibility, repeatability and stability. Therefore, this proposed aptasensor has a potential application in the food safety detection.

A facile electrochemical aptasensor for lysozyme detection based on target-induced turn-off of photosensitization

The quantification of proteins is essential in fundamental research or clinical applications. Here, we developed a facile electrochemical aptasensor based on target-induced turn-off of photosensitization for label-free and ultrasensitive detection of protein (exemplified by lysozyme). EB (ethidium bromide) molecules that were embedded in dsDNA between lysozyme binding aptamer and complementary DNA immobilized on the electrode, could photo-cleave the dsDNA via singlet oxygen (O21) during photosensitization, resulting in a high voltammetry current of the [Fe(CN)6]3-/4-. Upon recognition of the lysozyme by aptamer, the EB molecules were released from dsDNA, and its photosensitization activity was turned off. As a result, more amount of complementary DNA was retained on the Au nanoparticles modified carbon nanotube paste electrode (AuNPs-CNPE), leading to a declined voltammetry current. Such a sensing strategy allowed detection of 10 pM-1 µM lysozyme with a low detection limit (about 2 pM). Besides, the sensor was free of labeling procedure as well as extra signal amplification step, and the CNPE modification was quite simple, only with AuNPs. The sensor also showed excellent selectivity toward lysozyme in the presence of interfering proteins, such as thrombin, bovine serum albumin, myoglobin, etc. The proposed sensor was applied to the determination of lysozyme in urine samples with the recoveries ranging from 96.6% to 101%. The proposed biosensor holds a great promise in developing other electrochemical sensors based on photosensitization.

A sensitive aptasensor for the detection of β-amyloid oligomers based on metal–organic frameworks as electrochemical signal probes

In this study, we developed a novel and facile electrochemical aptasensor for β-amyloid (Aβ) oligomer detection based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as signal probes.

A novel electrochemical aptasensor for sensitive detection of streptomycin based on gold nanoparticle-functionalized magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes and nanoporous PtTi alloy

A facile electrochemical aptasensor based on a novel signal amplification strategy was employed for sensitive and selective detection of streptomycin for the first time. The aptasensor was prepared by sequentially dripping a gold nanoparticle-functionalized magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotube (Au@MWCNTs–Fe3O4) composite and nanoporous PtTi (NP-PtTi) alloy onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface. The NP-PtTi alloy with a uniform nanoporous structure was successfully fabricated by selectively de-alloying Al from a PtTiAl alloy in HCl solution. The results demonstrated that the Au@MWCNTs–Fe3O4/NP-PtTi composite not only showed a remarkable synergistic effect towards the aptasensor, but also provided a beneficial immobilization platform for the streptomycin aptamer carrier. Under optimal conditions, a wide linear range from 0.05 to 100 ng mL−1 and a detection limit of 7.8 pg mL−1 were obtained. The designed aptasensor showed an excellent analytical performance with good reproducibility, high selectivity and stability. Finally, the proposed aptasensor was successfully used for the detection of streptomycin in a real sample.