Efficient photoelectrochemical aptasensing of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate in environmental samples based on N, S co-doped graphene quantum dots/TiO2 nanorods

Dongyun Liao; Jinfeng Zhi; Qiang Wang; Wenjun Yan; Yujing Guo; Yujie Han; Chuan Dong; Yong Xiao; Hongcun Bai; Wenting Liang; Lifang Fan

doi:10.1016/j.aca.2023.341477

Efficient photoelectrochemical aptasensing of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate in environmental samples based on N, S co-doped graphene quantum dots/TiO₂ nanorods

Anal Chim Acta. 2023 Aug 29:1271:341477. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.341477. Epub 2023 Jun 4.

Authors

Dongyun Liao¹, Jinfeng Zhi¹, Qiang Wang², Wenjun Yan², Yujing Guo¹, Yujie Han¹, Chuan Dong¹, Yong Xiao², Hongcun Bai³, Wenting Liang⁴, Lifang Fan⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Environmental Science, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, PR China.
² National Key Laboratory of High Efficiency and Low Carbon Utilization of Coal, Institute of Coal Chemistry, CAS, Taiyuan, 030001, PR China.
³ State Key Laboratory of High-Efficiency Utilization of Coal and Green Chemical Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, 750021, Ningxia, China.
⁴ Institute of Environmental Science, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, PR China. Electronic address: liangwt@sxu.edu.cn.
⁵ Institute of Environmental Science, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, PR China. Electronic address: flf@sxu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37328253
DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.341477

Abstract

An efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing platform was developed for detection of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) based on nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene quantum dots/TiO₂ nanorods (N, S-GQDs/TiO₂ NRs) coupling with exonuclease I (Exo I)-assisted target recycling for remarkable signal amplification. N, S-GQDs uniformly grown on TiO₂ NRs by simple hydrothermal method showed high electron-hole separation efficiency and superior photoelectric performance, which was explored as the photoactive substrate for anchoring anti-DEHP aptamer and its complementary DNA (cDNA). With the addition of DEHP, aptamer molecules fell from the electrode surface owing to the specific recognition of aptamer to DEHP, resulting in the increment of photocurrent signal. At this moment, Exo I could stimulate aptamer hydrolysis in the aptamer-DEHP complexes, so that DEHP was released from the complexes to take part in the next reaction cycling, which remarkably increasing the photocurrent response and achieving signal amplification. The designed PEC sensing platform exhibited excellent analytical performance for DEHP with a low detection limit of 0.1 pg L^-1. Also, its applications in real samples were further investigated in detail. Thus, the established method would provide a simple and efficient tool for DEHP or other pollutants monitoring in the environment.

Keywords: Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate; Exonuclease I; Graphene quantum dots; Photoelectrochemical sensing platform; TiO(2) nanorods.

MeSH terms

Aptamers, Nucleotide* / chemistry
Biosensing Techniques* / methods
DNA, Complementary
Electrochemical Techniques / methods
Graphite* / chemistry
Limit of Detection
Nanotubes* / chemistry
Quantum Dots* / chemistry

Substances

titanium dioxide
Graphite
phthalic acid
DNA, Complementary
Aptamers, Nucleotide