Applicability of a Green Nanocomposite Consisted of Spongin Decorated Cu2WO4(OH)2 and AgNPs as a High-Performance Aptasensing Platform in Staphylococcus aureus Detection

This study reports the synthesis of a nanocomposite consisting of spongin and its applicability in the development of an aptasensing platform with high performance. The spongin was carefully extracted from a marine sponge and decorated with copper tungsten oxide hydroxide. The resulting spongin-copper tungsten oxide hydroxide was functionalized by silver nanoparticles and utilized in electrochemical aptasensor fabrication. The nanocomposite covered on a glassy carbon electrode surface amplified the electron transfer and increased active electrochemical sites. The aptasensor was fabricated by loading of thiolated aptamer on the embedded surface via thiol-AgNPs linkage. The applicability of the aptasensor was tested in detecting the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium as one of the five most common causes of nosocomial infectious diseases. The aptasensor measured S. aureus under a linear concentration range of 10-10(8) colony-forming units per milliliter and a limit of quantification and detection of 12 and 1 colony-forming unit per milliliter, respectively. The highly selective diagnosis of S. aureus in the presence of some common bacterial strains was satisfactorily evaluated. The acceptable results of the human serum analysis as the real sample may be promising in the bacteria tracking in clinical samples underlying the green chemistry principle.

Automated summary

This study synthesized a nanocomposite of spongin and copper tungsten oxide hydroxide and developed a high-performance aptasensing platform. The nanocomposite enhanced electron transfer and increased electrochemical sites. The aptasensor, fabricated by loading thiolated aptamer on the nanocomposite surface, successfully detected Staphylococcus aureus and showed high selectivity.