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A sensitive aptasensor based on molybdenum carbide nanotubes and label-free aptamer for detection of bisphenol A

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Abstract

To specifically and sensitively identify bisphenol A (BPA) with a simple and rapid method is very important for food safety. Using an anti-BPA aptamer and Mo2C nanotubes, we developed a label-free and low-background signal biosensor for BPA detection. The anti-BPA aptamer drastically increased the fluorescence signal of N-methylmesoporphyrin IX under an assistance of Help-DNA. Additionally, BPA can interact with the anti-BPA aptamer and switch its conformation to prevent the formation of a G-quadruplex, resulting in fluorescence quenching. Simultaneously, Mo2C nanotubes can reduce the background signals due to the adsorption of Help-DNA on their surface. This method shows a linear range of 2–20 nM with a detection limit of 2 nM for detecting BPA. This label-free BPA aptasensor with low background signal is inexpensive, easy to use, and can be applied to determine BPA in real water samples.

A low-background and label-free biosensor was designed based on Mo2C nanotubes and aptamer for BPA detection.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (51572044, 21475018), the Program of New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-13-0114), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (N140506001, N140505005).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, China

      Meng-Qi He, Kun Wang, Jin Wang, Yong-Liang Yu & Rong-Huan He

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    1. Meng-Qi He
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    2. Kun Wang
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    3. Jin Wang
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    Correspondence to Yong-Liang Yu or Rong-Huan He.

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    Meng-Qi He and Kun Wang contributed equally to this work.

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    He, MQ., Wang, K., Wang, J. et al. A sensitive aptasensor based on molybdenum carbide nanotubes and label-free aptamer for detection of bisphenol A. Anal Bioanal Chem 409, 1797–1803 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-0123-7

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