Robust aptamer sol–gel solid phase microextraction of very polar adenosine from human plasma

Conventional solid phase microextraction (SPME) has a limited capacity to extract very polar analytes, such as adenosine. To solve this problem, aptamer conjugating sol–gel methodology was coupled with an SPME fiber. According to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported use of aptamer SPME. The fiber of aptamer sol–gel SPME with a mesoporous structure has high porosity, large surface area, and small water contact angle. Rather than employing direct entrapment, covalent immobilization was the dominant method of aptamer loading in sol–gel. Aptamer sol–gel fiber captured a specified analyte from among the analog molecules, thereby, exhibiting an excellent selective property. Compared with commercial SPME fibers, this aptamer fiber was suitable for extracting adenosine, presenting an extraction efficiency higher than 20-fold. The values of repeatability and reproducibility expressed by relative standard deviation were low (9.4%). Interestingly, the sol–gel network enhanced the resistance of aptamer SPME to both nuclease and nonspecific proteins. Furthermore, the aptamer sol–gel fiber was applied in human plasma with LOQ 1.5 μg/L, which is an acceptable level. This fiber also demonstrates durability and regeneration over 20-cycles without significant loss of efficiency. Given the various targets (from metal ions to biomacromolecules and cells) of aptamers, this methodology will extend the multi-domain applications of SPME.

► Novel aptamer SPME was fabricated using sol–gel method.
► Aptamer SPME exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity to analytes.
► Aptamer SPME is nucleases resistant.
► Aptamer SPME is resistant to nonspecific proteins’ adsorption.
► Aptamer SPME successfully captured analytes in human plasma.