Engineering Colorimetric Aptazyme Sensors for Detecting High Levels of PFAS

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread environmental contaminants with significant health implications.
• Existing detection methods for PFAS often lack portability, hindering frequent on-site testing and rapid response.
• Development of sensitive, portable biosensors is crucial for managing PFAS exposure and guiding remediation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the potential of functional nucleic acids (FNAs) as a biosensing platform for PFAS detection.
• To enhance the sensitivity and enable colorimetric readout for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) detection using aptazyme constructs.
• To establish generalizable design principles for constructing aptazyme-based sensors for environmental contaminants.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multiple aptazyme constructs to engineer signal amplification into a perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) aptasensor.
• Compared the performance of aptazyme sensors with traditional aptasensors, focusing on sensitivity and readout method.
• Investigated the selectivity of the aptazyme sensors for different chain lengths of PFAS.

Main Results:

• Aptazyme sensors demonstrated comparable performance to existing aptasensors but with a simpler colorimetric detection method.
• The aptazyme sensor design exhibited altered selectivity, enabling the detection of longer-chain PFAS.
• Successfully programmed signal amplification into the PFOA aptasensor, increasing detection sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• Functional nucleic acid-based aptazyme sensors show significant promise for sensitive and portable PFAS detection.
• The developed colorimetric aptazyme sensors offer a viable alternative to fluorescence-based methods for on-site environmental monitoring.
• This research provides foundational design rules for creating versatile aptazyme sensors for various environmental contaminants.