A novel CRISPR/Cas14a-synergized wood-based platform for the ultrasensitive detection of aflatoxin B1

Abstract

A CRISPR/Cas14a-synergized wood-based platform (CWP) is designed here to detect aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) at an LOD of 0.67 fmol L⁻¹ with high sensitivity and no preamplification. Once the assay is performed, AFB1 is optically identified through an aptamer competition process, which triggers the trans-cleavage activity of Cas14a, resulting in significant color changes on the wood surface upon introducing chromogenic substrates. This method can be conveniently extended to the detection of disease-related protein biomarkers with low detection thresholds.