Sensitive and stable detection of deoxynivalenol based on electrochemiluminescence aptasensor enhanced by 0D/2D homojunction effect in food analysis

Sensitive detection for deoxynivalenol (DON) should be developed due to DON as a kind of harmful mycotoxins which can poses health risk to human health even at low concentrations. In this work, an electrochemiluminescence (ECL) DON aptasensor was proposed based on Ti3C2 dots/Ti3C2 nanosheet (TDTN). Compared with Ti3C2 dots and Ti3C2 nanosheet, the ECL intensity of TDTN was 4 times of Ti3C2 dots and 2 times of Ti3C2 nanosheet as emitters. This was attributed to homojunction effect which could provide continuity of band bonding and effectively accelerate charge transfer at the interface. Based on ECL signal changes generated by aptamer and DON fixed on the electrode surface, the ECL aptasensor showed on-off-on performances and detected DON specifically in milk, with detection range of 0.001-20 ng/mL and detection limit of 0.3 pg/mL (S/ N = 3). Therefore, the constructed ECL aptasensor is a promising detection method for food safety analysis.

Automated summary

An electrochemiluminescence (ECL) DON aptasensor based on Ti3C2 dots/Ti3C2 nanosheet (TDTN) was developed, showing high sensitivity and specific detection for deoxynivalenol (DON). The ECL aptasensor exhibited promising potential for food safety analysis.