A dual-responsive fluorescence aptasensor for simultaneous detection of antibiotics and construction of molecular logic gates

Abstract

The large-scale use of antibiotics in agriculture and husbandry has become a serious threat to the public health and environment. There is an urgent need to develop versatile sensing systems capable of detecting multiple antibiotics in animal-derived food. In this work, a dual-responsive fluorescence aptasensor was established for simultaneous detection of kanamycin (Kana) and tobramycin (Tob). Two different DNA probes were designed to specially bind to Kana and Tob, each producing a fluorescence signal of different color. The biosensor is simple, rapid, highly specific and sensitive for detecting Kana and Tob in milk, with detection limits of 97 nM and 210 nM, respectively. Three molecular logic gates were constructed using antibiotics as inputs, allowing for intelligent detection of antibiotics through different logic operations. This convenient, practical, and low cost biosensor provides a versatile platform for simultaneous detection of multiple targets in animal-derived foods, particularly in resource-limited regions.