Signal-On Photoelectrochemical Immunoassay for Aflatoxin B1 Based on Enzymatic Product-Etching MnO2 Nanosheets for Dissociation of Carbon Dots

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) monitoring has attracted extensive attention because food safety is a worldwide public health problem. Herein, we design a novel simultaneously visual and photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunosensing system for rapid sensitive detection of AFB1 in foodstuff. The immunoreaction was carried out on anti-AFB1 antibody-modified magnetic beads by using glucose oxidase (GOx)-labeled AFB1-bovine serum albumin (AFB1–BSA) conjugates as the tags with a competitive-type immunoassay format, while the visual and PEC evaluation was performed via carbon quantum dots (CQDs)-functionalized MnO2 nanosheets. Accompanying the formation of immunocomplexes, the carried GOx initially oxidized the substrate (glucose) for the generation of H2O2, which reduced/etched MnO2 nanosheets into Mn2+ ions, thereby resulting in the dissociation of CQDs from the electrode. Within the applied potentials, the photocurrent of MnO2-CQDs-modified electrode decreased with the increasing H2O2 level in the detection cell. Meanwhile, a visual detection could be performed according to the change in the color of MnO2-CQDs-coated electrode. To elaborate, this system was aggregated into a high-throughput microfluidic device to construct a semiautomatic detection cell. Under optimal conditions, the photocurrent increased with the increasing target AFB1 within a dynamic working range from 0.01 to 20 ng mL–1 with a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.1 pg mL–1 (ppt). The developed immunoassay exhibited good reproducibility and acceptable accuracy. In addition, the method accuracy relative to AFB1 ELISA kit was evaluated for analyzing naturally contaminated or spiked peanut samples, giving the well-matched results between two methods. Although our strategy was focused on the detection of target AFB1, it is easily extended to screen other small molecules or mycotoxins, thereby representing a versatile immunosensing scheme.