Antibiotic contamination is becoming a prominent global issue. Therefore, sensitive, specific and simple technology is desirable the demand for antibiotics detection. Biosensors based on split aptamer has gradually attracted extensive attention for antibiotic detection due to its higher sensitivity, lower cost, false positive/negative avoidance and flexibility in sensor design. Although many of the reported split aptamers are antibiotics aptamers, the acquisition and mechanism of splitting is still unknow. In this review, six reported split aptamers in antibiotics are outlined, including Enrofloxacin, Kanamycin, Tetracycline, Tobramycin, Neomycin, Streptomycin, which have contributed to promote interest, awareness and thoughts into this emerging research field. The study introduced the pros and cons of split aptamers, summarized the assembly principle of split aptamer and discussed the intermolecular binding of antibiotic-aptamer complexes. In addition, the recent application of split aptamers in antibiotic detection are introduced. Split aptamers have a promising future in the design and development of biosensors for antibiotic detection in food and other field. The development of the antibiotic split aptamer meets many challenges including mechanism discovery, stability improvement and new biosensor development. It is believed that split aptamer could be a powerful molecular probe and plays an important role in aptamer biosensor.
Keywords: Antibiotics; biosensor; detection; mechanisms; split aptamer.