Self-assembled tetrahedral DNA nanostructures-based ultrasensitive label-free detection of ampicillin.

Antibiotics are widely used for improving the living conditions of livestock. However, residual antibiotics present in animal products induce several human diseases. Therefore, a simple, rapid, and cost-effective system for detecting and monitoring the presence of antibiotics in foods is in great demand to alleviate safety concerns. In this study, a highly sensitive and selective aptameric electrochemical sensing platform was designed based on nanomaterial modification and DNA nanotechnology. Electrochemically reduced graphene oxide and gold nanoparticles were used to modify the working surface of a screen-printed electrode to enhance electrical conductivity and biocompatibility. The electrode surface was further modified with self-assembled tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDN) to improve the detection sensitivity. The TDN allowed controlling the nano-spacing of aptamers immobilized on the electrode surface and placing aptamers in a solution-phase-like detecting environment to improve the target-binding efficiency without signal amplification modules. Differential pulse voltammetry was employed to measure electrical signals in proportion to the amount of ampicillin, the target antibiotic, present in buffer and spiked milk samples. The designed aptasensor was able to detect and measure the target ampicillin in less than 30 min over a wide concentration range of 10 pM to 1 mM, with a limit of detection of 1 pM, which is 100 times better than when using the same sensing probe without TDN modification. The aptasensor was reusable by simply rinsing with deionized water, remained stable during 15-day storage, and yielded reproducible results.

Ultrasensitive electrochemical immunoassay for melanoma cells using mesoporous polyaniline.

We report the development of an antibody (anti-MC1R antibody)-functionalized polyaniline nanofibers modified screen-printed electrode capable of efficient electrochemical detection of melanoma cells at levels (1 cell per mL) not readily achieved by other methods. This immunosensor is highly selective in its detection of melanoma cells over normal human cells.

Using L-arginine-functionalized gold nanorods for visible detection of mercury(II) ions.

A rapid and simple approach for visible determination of mercury ions (Hg(2+) ) in aqueous solutions was developed based on surface plasmon resonance phenomenon using L-arginine-functionalized gold nanorods (AuNRs). At pH greater than 9, the deprotonated amine group of L-arginine on the AuNRs bound with Hg(2+) leading to the side-by-side assembly of AuNRs, which was verified by transmission electron microscopy images. Thus, when Hg(2+) was present in the test solution, a blue shift of the typical longitudinal plasmon band of the AuNRs was observed in the ultra violet-visible-near infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) spectra, along with a change in the color of the solution, which occurred within 5 min. After carefully optimizing the potential factors affecting the performance, the L-arginine/AuNRs sensing system was found to be highly sensitive to Hg(2+) , with the limit of detection of 5 nM (S/N = 3); it is also very selective and free of interference from 10 other metal ions (Ba(2+) , Ca(2+) , Cd(2+) , Co(2+) , Cs(+) , Cu(2+) , K(+) , Li(+) , Ni(2+) , Pb(2+) ). The result suggests that the L-arginine-functionalized AuNRs can potentially serve as a rapid, sensitive, and easy-to-use colorimetric biosensor useful for determining Hg(2+) in food and environmental samples.