A bimetallic organic framework based fluorescent aptamer probe for the detection of zearalenone in cereals.

[Display omitted] • A novel bimetallic organic framework based fluorescent aptamer probe was designed. • Aptamer was combined with Cu/UiO-66 by electrostatic force and van der Waals force. • Aptamer's fluorescence was quenched by the photoinduced electron transfer effect. • The probe realized sensitive detection of zearalenone in cereal and their products. • A detection limit of 0.048 ng/mL was achieved with a linear range of 0.5–60 ng/mL. In this work, a bimetallic organic framework (Cu/UiO-66) based "turn on" fluorescent aptamer probe was designed for the high-efficiency detection of zearalenone (ZEN). In the probe, the 6-carboxyfluorescein-labeled aptamer (FAM-Apt) was used as the recognition element, and the electrostatic interaction, coordination effect, and photoinduced electron transfer effect between FAM-Apt and Cu/UiO-66 caused fluorescence quenching. When ZEN existed, FAM-Apt recognized ZEN specifically, causing FAM-Apt to separate from the surface of Cu/UiO-66 and recovery of fluorescence. Under the optimal conditions, the probe had a linear detection range of 0.5 ng/mL–60 ng/mL, and the detection limit was 0.048 ng/mL. The application potential of the probe was verified by real detection of various cereals and their products, with a standard recovery from 83.67 %–106.8 %. The development of this efficient, rapid, and sensitive ZEN detection method provides a new platform for the quality control of cereals and their products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]