A portable dual-mode paper sensor enabled by multifunctional layered double oxide hollow nanohybrids

Conventional methods for antibiotic detection typically require complex laboratory instrumentation and involve lengthy analysis procedures, rendering them unsuitable for rapid on-site testing, especially during outbreaks or public health emergencies. In this study, hollow-structured "Three-in-One" LDO HSs@Au nanohybrids were synthesized through electrostatic assembly followed by high-temperature calcination. These nanohybrids exhibit ease of surface modification, strong magnetic properties, and intrinsic peroxidase-mimicking catalytic activity. Nucleic acid-functionalized LDO HSs@Au was prepared via Au-S bonding and subsequently immobilized onto filter paper. This functionalized paper was then integrated with TMB-immobilized filter paper inside EP tubes to construct a portable "All-in-Tube" paper-based sensing platform. Based on target-aptamer competitive binding combined with LDO HSs@Au nanozyme-mediated signal amplification, this system enables sensitive and rapid antibiotic detection, achieving a limit of detection (LOD) of 50 pM for kanamycin. By simply altering the aptamer sequence, the platform can be adapted for universal detection of various targets. Additionally, the dual-function magnetic-catalytic system was incorporated with catalytic hairpin assembly to establish a portable lateral flow assay, allowing equipment-free multiplex detection of antibiotics-including kanamycin, oxytetracycline, and enrofloxacin-with an LOD as low as 1 pM. The proposed paper-based sensor demonstrates considerable advantages for both quantitative and qualitative antibiotic analysis and shows strong potential for field-deployable and large-scale screening of antibiotic residues in environmental and food samples.