A High-Performance Self-Supporting Electrochemical Biosensor to Detect Aflatoxin B1

Abstract

High-performance electrochemical biosensors for the rapid detection of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) are urgently required in the food industry. Herein, a multi-scaled electrochemical biosensor was fabricated by assembling carboxylated polystyrene nanospheres, an aptamer and horseradish peroxidase into a free-standing carbon nanofiber/carbon felt support. The resulting electrochemical biosensor possessed an exceptional performance, owing to the unique structures as well as the synergistic effects of the components. The 3D porous carbon nanofiber/carbon felt support served as an ideal substrate, owing to the excellent conductivity and facile diffusion of the reactants. The integration of carboxylated polystyrene nanospheres with horseradish peroxidase was employed as a signal amplification probe to enhance the electrochemical responses via catalyzing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. With the aid of the aptamer, the prepared sensors could quantitatively detect AFB1 in wine and soy sauce samples via differential pulse voltammetry. The recovery rates of AFB1 in the samples were between 87.53% and 106.71%. The limit of detection of the biosensors was 0.016 pg mL−1. The electrochemical biosensors also had excellent sensitivity, reproducibility, specificity and stability. The synthetic strategy reported in this work could pave a new route to fabricate high-performance electrochemical biosensors for the detection of mycotoxins.

Biosensor in smart food traceability system for food safety and security

“…mercury, lead, cadmium, and arsenic) are known to pose a serious threat to food safety if consumed above the weekly allowable intake. [ 154 ] developed a cell-free paper-based biosensor for on-site detection of Hg 2+ and Pb 2+ in water using a combination of in vitro transcription (IVT) technology with allosteric transcription factors (aTFs). The detection principle mainly relied on the aTFs specific affinity characteristic toward metal ions that cause dissociation from DNA and result in a measurable signal of transcribed fluorescent RNA ( Figure 9 ).…”

“… Schematic diagram of a cell-free paper-based biosensor for on-site detection of heavy metals Hg 2+ and Pb 2+ in water based on aTfs. Reprinted from [ 154 ] with permission from Elsevier. …”

“…This then can be used for detecting any food adulteration. Lastly, biosensor and IoT technologies could lead in the wireless transmission technology [ 154 , 166 ].…”

Biosensors for Food Mycotoxin Determination: A Comparative and Critical Review

“…Y. Zhang et al [120], using an electrochemical biosensor based on carboxylated polystyrene nanospheres, an aptamer, and horseradish peroxidase assembled on a carbon nanofiber/carbon felt support for the determination of aflatoxin B1, found that after four weeks, recovery rates were reduced by 10.4% (Figure 11).…”

“…Y. Zhang et al [120], using an electrochemical biosensor based on carboxylated polystyrene nanospheres, an aptamer, and horseradish peroxidase assembled on a carbon nanofiber/carbon felt support for the determination of aflatoxin B1, found that after four weeks, recovery rates were reduced by 10.4% (Figure 11). Zhao et al, building an evanescent optical fiber aptasensor, checked the reproducibility in 35 cycles that included the sequential injections of the blank (copy DNA only), 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate (regeneration buffer at 1.9 pH value), and toxin sample (1 pM ZEN and copy DNA).…”