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Sensitive colorimetric aptasensor based on g-C3N4@Cu2O composites for detection of Salmonella typhimurium in food and water

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Abstract

A new colorimetric aptasensor equipped with a novel composite of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets and copper oxide(I) (Cu2O) nanocrystals is presented for Salmonella typhimurium (S .typhimurium). The dual-purpose structure of this composite simultaneously contributes to superb peroxidase-like activity and interaction with a label-free aptamer. Although g-C3N4@Cu2O effectively creates a visible blue color following the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), this catalytic activity of the composite severely decreases after the interaction with aptamers. In the presence of S. typhimurium in sample, aptamers bound to their specific target. Subsequently, g-C3N4@Cu2O catalytic activity was enhanced in proportion to S. typhimurium concentration. Under optimized conditions, this aptasensor exhibited an excellent detection performance in a range from 1.5 × 101 to 1.5 × 105 CFU/ml, with a detection limit of 15 CFU/ml. Besides, portable detection of S. typhimurium by paper-based model of this method operated successfully in just 6 min. Analysis of spiked milk samples revealed high potential of this method as a sensitive, rapid, and label-free promising tool for S. typhimurium detection.

Graphical abstract

A novel composite of g-C3N4 nanosheets and Cu2O nanocrystals was constructed through this study, which represented a collection of significant properties for designing an aptasensor. The simultaneous capability of this composite for peroxidase-like activity and interaction with aptamer led to design a fast accurate biosensor for detecting as low as 15 CFU/ml Salmonella typhimurium as one of the most important foodborne pathogens which is a persistent burden for societies.

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Funding

The authors are grateful to the Research Council of University of Tehran for the financial support of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences & Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Afrooz Tarokh, Azam Bagheri Pebdeni & Morteza Hosseini

  2. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Salahaddin University-Erbil, Erbil, Iraq

    Hazha Omar Othman

  3. Center of Excellence in Electrochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tehran, Tehran, 1417614418, Iran

    Foad Salehnia

  4. Department of Pharmaceutical Biomaterials, Medical Biomaterials Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Morteza Hosseini

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  1. Afrooz Tarokh
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  2. Azam Bagheri Pebdeni
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  5. Morteza Hosseini
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Correspondence to Morteza Hosseini.

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Tarokh, A., Pebdeni, A.B., Othman, H.O. et al. Sensitive colorimetric aptasensor based on g-C3N4@Cu2O composites for detection of Salmonella typhimurium in food and water. Microchim Acta 188, 87 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-021-04745-w

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