A fluorescence imaging-supported aptasensor for sensitive monitoring of cadmium pollutant in diverse samples: A critical role of metal organic frameworks

ion (Cd2+) as a hazardous water pollutant is seriously detrimental to human health, food safety, and ecological areas. Hence, we successfully designed a simple detection array for monitoring of ultra-low levels of Cd2+ ion by combining the advantages of aptamer as a high sensitive and selective sensing probe and zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) as a superior fluorescence quenching inducer. To have a portable and on-site detection assay, the aptamer biosensing array (aptasensor) was designed by using a paper-supported substrate. The basis of the designed paper-supported aptasensor was the specific complexation of Cd2+ with the aptamer strand, adsorption of fluorescein-labeled complementary (FAM-CP) strand on the ZIF-8 surface, and fluorescence quenching of FAM molecule after the leakage of the injected target solution on the sample zone of the paper substrate to the detection part. A linear relationship was obtained between the Mean Gray Value index, as a criterion for the fluorescence quenching, and the Cd2+ concentration in the range of 0.1-120 pM with a detection limit of 0.076 pM. The aptasensor could detect Cd2+ in the diverse real sample, including tap water, milk, coffee, and human blood serum.

Automated summary

In this study, a simple detection array was designed to monitor ultra-low levels of Cd2+ ion by combining the advantages of aptamer and ZIF-8. The paper-supported aptasensor showed good performance in detecting Cd2+ in various real samples, making it a promising tool for on-site analysis.