Highly sensitive homogeneous electrochemical aptasensor for antibiotic residues detection based on dual recycling amplification strategy

• A highly sensitive homogeneous electrochemical aptamer-based antibiotic assay was proposed.
• It is based on target-induced and T7 exonuclease-assisted dual recycling signal amplification.
• The detection limit toward ampicillin is 4.0 pM.

The ubiquitous presence of antibiotic residues in foodstuff have serious health consequences for consumers from allergic reactions to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To address this problem, a novel homogeneous electrochemical aptasensor with high sensitivity and specificity is designed for antibiotic residues detection based on target-induced and T7 exonuclease-assisted dual recycling signal amplification strategy. It was realized by the remarkable diffusivity difference between hairpin probe and the mononucleotides towards the negatively charged indium tin oxide electrode. For the proof-of-concept experiment, ampicillin, was employed as a model analyte to examine the desirable properties of this assay. A low detection limit of 4.0 pM toward ampicillin with an excellent selectivity could be achieved, which has been successfully applied to assay antibiotic in milk. What's more, compared with the immobilization-based electrochemical means, the proposed sensing system avoids the tedious and time-consuming steps of electrode modification, making the experimental processes much simpler and more convenient. With the advantages of high sensitivity, excellent selectivity and simple operation, it is believed that this strategy possesses great potential for the simple, easy and convenient detection of antibiotic residues in food safety field.