A highly sensitive and group-targeting aptasensor for total phthalate determination in the environment

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Phthalate esters (PAEs) are prevalent plasticizers and significant environmental pollutants.
• Existing methods for PAE detection may lack speed, convenience, or the ability to measure total amounts.
• A need exists for efficient methods to determine the total concentration of PAEs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate a molecularly tailored aptamer for broad-spectrum recognition and high-affinity binding of total phthalate esters (TP).
• To optimize the aptamer sequence for enhanced binding affinity and detection capabilities.
• To establish a rapid and convenient method for determining the total amount of PAEs.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Mfold secondary structure simulation to predict optimal aptamer folding.
• Employed molecular truncation to identify and isolate the most effective binding region of the aptamer.
• Characterized the binding affinity and detection limits of the optimized aptamer.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated a 24-mer aptamer with improved PAE-binding affinity (1.5-fold increase) compared to the full-length version.
• Achieved a linear detection range for TP from 0.003 to 10 μg/L.
• Established a low limit of detection of 1 ng/L for TP.

Conclusions:

• The developed broad-spectrum aptamer provides a sensitive and efficient tool for group-targeting identification of PAEs.
• This method demonstrates significant potential for practical applications in environmental monitoring and pollutant determination.
• Offers new insights into aptamer design for the simultaneous quantification of structurally similar compounds.