Aptamer-DNAzyme hairpins for biosensing of Ochratoxin A

We report an aptasensor for biosensing of Ochratoxin A (OTA) using aptamer-DNAzyme hairpin as biorecognition element. The structure of this engineered nucleic acid includes the horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-mimicking DNAzyme and the OTA specific aptamer sequences. A blocking tail captures a part of these sequences in the stem region of the hairpin. In the presence of OTA, the hairpin is opened due to the formation of the aptamer-analyte complex. As a result, self-assembly of the active HRP-mimicking DNAzyme occurs. The activity of this DNAzyme is linearly correlated with OTA concentration up to 10 nM, showing a limit of detection of 2.5 nM. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.