A phosphorescence resonance energy transfer-based "off-on" long afterglow aptasensor for cadmium detection in food samples

Bin Lai; Haitao Wang; Wentao Su; Zhouping Wang; Bei-Wei Zhu; Chenxu Yu; Mingqian Tan

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2021.122409

A phosphorescence resonance energy transfer-based "off-on" long afterglow aptasensor for cadmium detection in food samples

Talanta. 2021 Sep 1:232:122409. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2021.122409. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Authors

Bin Lai¹, Haitao Wang¹, Wentao Su¹, Zhouping Wang², Bei-Wei Zhu¹, Chenxu Yu³, Mingqian Tan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Academy of Food Interdisciplinary Science, School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University, Qinggongyuan 1, Ganjingzi District, Dalian, 116034, China; National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian Polytechnic University, 116034, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Seafood Deep Processing, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian, 116034, China.
² School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China. Electronic address: wangzp@jiangnan.edu.cn.
³ Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA.
⁴ Academy of Food Interdisciplinary Science, School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University, Qinggongyuan 1, Ganjingzi District, Dalian, 116034, China; National Engineering Research Center of Seafood, Dalian Polytechnic University, 116034, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Seafood Deep Processing, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian, 116034, China. Electronic address: mqtan@dlpu.edu.cn.

PMID: 34074399
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2021.122409

Abstract

Cadmium contamination is a severe food safety risk for human health. Herein, a long afterglow "off-on" phosphorescent aptasensor was developed based on phosphorescence resonance energy transfer (PRET) for the detection of Cd²⁺ in complex samples which minimizes the interference of background fluorescence. In this scheme, initially the phosphorescence of Cd²⁺-binding aptamer conjugated long afterglow nanoparticles (Zn₂GeO₄:Mn) was quenched by black hole quencher 1 (BHQ₁) modified complementary DNA. Upon encountering of Cd²⁺, the aptamer interacted with Cd²⁺ and the complementary DNA with BHQ₁ was released, leading to phosphorescence recovery. The content of Cd²⁺ could be quantified by the intensity of phosphorescence recovery with 100 μs gate time (which eliminated the sample autofluorescence) with a linear relationship between 0.5 and 50 μg L^-1 and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.35 μg L^-1. This method was successfully demonstrated for Cd²⁺ detection in drinking water and yesso scallop samples. The "off-on" phosphorescent aptasensor based on PRET of long afterglow nanomaterials could be an effective tool for Cd²⁺ detection in food samples.

Keywords: Aptamer; Cadmium ions; Long afterglow; Phosphorescence.

MeSH terms

Aptamers, Nucleotide*
Biosensing Techniques*
Cadmium
Energy Transfer
Humans
Limit of Detection

Substances

Aptamers, Nucleotide
Cadmium