A novel adsorbent based on aptamer prepared via “thiol-ene” click for specific recognition of phthalic acid esters

Engineering of dual recognition functional aptamer-molecularly imprinted polymeric solid-phase microextraction for detecting of 17β-estradiol in meat samples

In this study, an enhanced selective recognition strategy was employed to construct a novel solid-phase microextraction fiber coating for the detection of 17β-estradiol, characterized by the combination of aptamer biorecognition and molecularly imprinted polymer recognition. Benefiting from the combination of molecularly imprinted and aptamer, aptamer-molecularly imprinted (Apt-MIP) fiber coating had synergistic recognition effect. The effects of pH, ion concentration, extraction time, desorption time and desorption solvent on the adsorption capacity of Apt-MIP were investigated. The adsorption of 17β-estradiol on Apt-MIP followed pseudo-second order kinetic model, and the Freundlich isotherm. The process was exothermic and thermodynamically spontaneous. Compared with polymers that only rely on imprinted recognition, non-imprinted recognition or aptamer affinity, Apt-MIP had the best recognition performance, which was 1.30-2.20 times that of these three materials. Furthermore, the adsorption capacity of Apt-MIP for 17β-estradiol was 885.36-1487.52 times than that of polyacrylate and polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzone commercial fiber coatings. Apt-MIP fiber coating had good stability and could be reused for more than 15 times. Apt-MIP solid-phase microextraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography was successfully applied to the determination of 17β-estradiol in pork, chicken, fish and shrimp samples, with satisfactory recoveries of 79.61 %-105.70 % and low limits of detection (0.03 μg/kg). This work provides new perspectives and strategies for sample pretreatment techniques based on molecular imprinting technology and improves analytical performance.

Multi-target aptamer assay for endocrine-disrupting phthalic acid ester panel screening in plastic leachates

A multi-target aptamer assay was developed as a phthalic acid ester (PAE) panel to screen selected PAEs in plastic leachate samples. The panel comprises 13 PAEs (PAE-13), namely dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, di-n-hexyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate, diisononyl phthalate, diisodecyl phthalate, mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, diphenyl phthalate, butyl benzyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, and phthalic acid. Herein, we proposed an aptamer assay using a newly truncated aptamer (20-mer) and the 7-aminoactinomycin D fluorophore, which selectively binds to guanine in single-stranded DNA, resulting in increased fluorescence intensity. The assay is highly selective for PAE-13 clusters. The selectivity of the assay was evaluated using 13 different PAEs and mixtures depending on the side chain structure. The quantitative detection of PAEs was demonstrated by adopting mixed PAE-13 simulants and achieved a limit of detection of ∼1.4 pg/mL. The repeatability and reproducibility of the assay were also evaluated by presenting acceptable coefficients of variation (%CV less than 10% and 15%, respectively). The performance of the assay was demonstrated by analyzing the plastic leachate samples, and the positive correlation (correlation coefficient, r = 0.985) was confirmed by comparing them with the total sum of individual PAE peak areas obtained by gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis.

High stability amino-derived reversed-phase/anion-exchange mixed-mode phase based on polysilsesquioxane microspheres for simultaneous separation of compound drugs

A series of amino-derived mixed-mode chromatographic stationary phases were synthesized based on porous mercaptopropyl-functionalized polysilsesquioxane mesoporous microspheres synthesized by a co-condensation of methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS). Through controlling the ratio of MTMS and MPTMS, the modified stationary phases with different amino densities were prepared by a "thiol-ene" click chemistry reaction. The morphology, pore structure, and functional groups of the microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption test, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), elemental analysis, and zeta potential, respectively. The chromatographic behavior of the stationary phases was evaluated by using alkylbenzene homologs and inorganic anions as probes. The mixed-mode retention behavior and separation mechanisms for neutral, alkaline, and acidic drugs on the prepared column had been systematically studied by changing the value of pH, ionic, and solvent strength of the mobile phase. Compared with the silica-based amino-bonded column (S-NH₂), the synthesized organosilica phase exhibited higher hydrothermal stability and longer service life under high alkaline conditions. The newly synthesized phase was successfully applied to the simultaneous separation of the multiple substances in compound drugs.