A Rapid Label-Free Fluorescent Aptasensor PicoGreen-Based Strategy for Aflatoxin B₁ Detection in Traditional Chinese Medicines.

ABSTRACT: Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) is a very hazardous carcinogen, readily contaminating foodstuffs and traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) that has inspired increasing health concerns due to dietary exposure. Colloidal nanocrystals have been proposed as optical labels for aptasensor assembly, but these typically require tedious multistep conjugation and suffer from unsatisfactory robustness when used for complex matrices. In the present study, we report a rapid and sensitive method for screening for trace AFB₁ levels in TCMs using a label-free fluorescent aptasensor PicoGreen dye-based strategy. Using PicoGreen to selectively measure complementary double-stranded DNA, fluorescence enhancement due to dsDNA is 'turned off' in the presence of AFB₁ due binding of aptamer target over complementary sequence.

SUBMITTER: Zhang C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5869389 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature