Fabrication of a molecularly imprinted polymer-aptamer receptor towards an ultrasensitive detection of Aflatoxin B1 and its optimization by response surface methodology

[Display omitted] •A molecularly imprintedelectrochemical sensorwas developed for the specific determination of AFB1.•The double recognition approach leads to improvement in sensitivity over aptamer or MIPs alone.•The detection limit of this sensor toward AFB1 (0.6 ag ml−1) is lower than many other reported sensors. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a significant criterion in healthy food evaluations, and its carcinogenic potency increases the need to fabricate an ultrasensitive sensor to find its exact amount. Here, we developed an accurate AFB1 aptasensor based on a modification of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with a hybrid of the molecular imprinting polymer (MIP) and aptamer on gold nanoparticles (PPY/Aptamer@AFB1/AuNPs/GCE). Electrochemical techniques were used to analyze AFB1 in complicated matrices while a three-factorial central composite design (CCD) was employed to assess the optimal pH, time, and temperature parameters that led to fabricating the aptasensor by the best answer to the AFB1 analysis. It had a linear response to AFB1 from 12.58 ag.ml−1 to 6.3 μg.ml−1 with a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.6 ag ml−1 lower than any of the previously reported methods. The offered aptasensor was appropriately employed for AFB1 detection in wheat flour samples.