Enzyme-controlled dissolution of MnO2 nanoflakes with enzyme cascade amplification for colorimetric immunoassay

A new colorimetric immunosensing platform accompanying enzyme cascade amplification strategy was fabricated for quantitative screening of small-molecular mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, AFB1 used in this case) coupling with enzyme-controlled dissolution of MnO2 nanoflakes. The visual colored assay was executed by high-efficient MnO2-3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) system (blue). In the presence of ascorbic acid, MnO2 nanoflakes were dissolved into Mn2+ ions, thus resulting in a perceptible color change from blue to colorless. The reaction could be weakened through ascorbate oxidase to catalyze ascorbic acid into dehydroascorbic acid, which indirectly depended on the concentration of ascorbate oxidase. By using ascorbate oxidase/ anti-AFB1 antibody-labeled gold nanoparticles, a novel competitive-type colorimetric enzyme immunoassay was developed for detection of AFB1 on AFB1-bovine serum albumin (BSA)-conjugated magnetic beads. Upon addition of target AFB1, the analyte competed with the conjugated AFB1-BSA on the magnetic beads for the labeled anti-AFB1 antibody on the gold nanoparticles. Under optimal conditions, the absorbance decreased with increasing target AFB1 within the dynamic range of 0.05-150 ng mL−1 with a detection limit of 6.5 pg mL−1 at the 3Sblank level. The precision and specificity of the MnO2-TMB-based immunosensing system were acceptable. In addition, method accuracy was further validated for monitoring spiked peanut samples, giving results matched well with those obtained from commercialized AFB1 ELISA kit.