An indirect competitive assay-based method for the sensitive determination of tetracycline residue using a real-time fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction

Abstract

Tetracycline (TC) is an effective antibiotic used to treat humans and livestock, but its inappropriate use imposes toxic effects, including pollution, on environmental ecology and food. Currently, sensitive, accurate, and cost-effective methods that can detect lower concentrations of TC residues in environmental and food samples are needed. In this study, a novel indirect competitive assay-based aptamer method was developed for detecting TC residues through signal amplification by real-time fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The response surface methodology was introduced to optimize the optimal concentrations (influencing factors) of the three types of single-stranded DNA in the competitive assay process. The optimal conditions for the three types of ssDNA were 112 nM for the specific aptamer of TC (Apt40), 115 nM for the signal DNA, and 83 nM for the DNA catcher. As expected, under optimal conditions, the Ct value was linearly related to the logarithm of TC concentration. The calibration curve equation was Ct = −0.34516 log[TC] + 9.9345 (R² = 0.998) in the range of 10⁻³–10³ ng mL⁻¹, and the limit of detection was 7.02 × 10⁻⁵ ng mL⁻¹. The new method was effectively applied to detect TC residues in wastewater, honey, and milk samples. It achieved an average recovery rate of 101.19% with a small variation of 5.16%. The validation was carried out using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. This approach demonstrates high sensitivity and selectivity, making it well suited for detecting leftover antibiotics in food when using suitable aptamers.