A direct determination of AFBs in vinegar by aptamer-based surface plasmon resonance biosensor

Aflatoxin (AFB) is one of the most toxic fungal metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus, which may contaminate food and agricultural products. Herein, an aptamer-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor was developed to detect AFBs. The chosen aptamer showed comparable interaction with the two AFBs, namely aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and aflatoxin B2 (AFB2). Such phenomenon was rarely reported, and might lead to a simultaneous detection of both AFBs. In this study, AFB1 was used to systematically establish the detection method. In the SPR system, streptavidin proteins were immobilized on the surface of a CM5 sensor chip as a cross-linker and biotin-aptamers were captured through streptavidin-biotin interaction. After optimization, the assay showed a dynamic range between 0.09 and 200 ng mL−1 (linear range from 1.5 to 50 ng mL−1 and a LOD of 0.19 ng mL−1) of AFB1 in buffer. As expected, the aptasensor showed high specificity towards AFB1 and AFB2, but hardly bound to other toxins with similar structures, including ochratoxin A (OTA), ochratoxin B (OTB), Zeralenone (ZEA) and T-2 toxin (T-2). Determination of AFB1 in vinegar was further performed using the SPR biosensor. Recoveries of AFB1 from spiked samples ranged from 96.3 to 117.8%. The developed SPR assay is a simple, fast and sensitive approach for the detection of residual AFBs in agricultural products and foodstuffs like vinegar.