An aptamer-based chromatographic strip assay for sensitive toxin semi-quantitative detection

An aptamer-based chromatographic strip assay method for rapid toxin detection was developed. The aptamer-based strip assay was based on the competition for the aptamer between ochratoxin A and DNA probes. The sensing results indicated that the sensitivity of the aptamer-based strip was better than that of conventional antibody-based strips. The visual limit of detection of the strip for qualitative detection was 1 ng/mL while the LOD for semi-quantitative detection could down to 0.18 ng/mL by using scanning reader. The recoveries of test samples were from 96% to 110%. All detections could be achieved in less than 10 min, indicating that the aptamer-based strip could be a potential useful tool for rapid on-site detections.