The authors describe an enzyme-free aptamer-based assay for the determination of the model antibiotic kanamycin (Kana). The method is making use of (a) microfluidic chip electrophoresis; (b) a stirring bar carrying a gold-labeled aptamer probe, and (c) the hybridization chain reaction (HCR) for signal amplification. Firstly, a stirring bar (length: 1 cm; diameter: 0.2 mm) was modified with a large amount of duplex DNA and then hybridized with aptamer and its partially complementary chains (cDNA). In the presence of Kana, the binding between the Kana and aptamer unwinds the duplex structures and releases a corresponding amount of cDNA into the supernatant. The released cDNA triggers the HCR in the presence of H1 and H2 DNA hairpin to produce a large amount of duplex DNA chains with different lengths. At the same time, the amounts of H1 and H2 are reduced. The decreased signal of H1/H2 after several HCR cycles can be used to quantify kana in the 1 pg·mL-1 to 10 ng·mL-1, with a detection limit of 0.29 pg·mL-1. The signal is generated by reading the fluorescence, best at excitation/emission maxima of 470/525 nm. The whole detection process takes 3 min only. The assay was employed to the detection of Kana in spiked milk and fish samples. Results are consistent with those of an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The assay has high throughput, high selectivity, and high amplification capability. Graphical abstract Schematic of a stirring bar functionalized with gold-labeled aptamer acting as the capture probe. It can capture the target and release primer simultaneously. The primer triggers the hybridization chain reaction inducing the consumption of H1 and H2. After a certain reaction time, the mixture is injected into the MCE platform for microfluidic electrophoretic separation and fluorometric detection.
Keywords: Antibiotics detection; Aptamer sensor; Food safety; Microchip assay.