Electrochemical aptasensors based on porous carbon derived from graphene oxide/ZIF-8 composites for the detection of Erwinia cypripedii

In this research, self-screening aptamer and MOFs-derived nanomaterial have been combined to construct electrochemical aptasensor for environmental detection. By utilizing the large specific surface area of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), ZIF-8 was grown in situ on surface of rGO, and the composites was pyrolyzed to obtain MOFs-derived porous carbon materials (rGO-NCZIF). Thanks to the synergistic effect between rGO and NCZIF, the complex exhibits remarkable characteristics, including a high electron transfer rate and electrocatalytic activity. In addition, the orderly arrangement of imidazole ligands within ZIF-8 facilitated the uniform doping of nitrogen elements into the porous carbon, thereby significantly enhancing its electrochemical performance. After carboxylation, rGO-NCZIF was functionalized with self-screening aptamer for fabricating electrochemical aptasensor, which can be used to detect Erwinia cypripedii, a kind of quarantine plant bacteria, with detection limit of 4.92 × 103 cfu/mL. Due to the simplicity and speed, the aptasensor is suitable for rapid customs inspection and quarantine. Additionally, the universality of this sensing strategy was verified through exosomes detection by changing the aptamer. The results indicated that the rGO-NCZIF-based electrochemical aptasensor had practical value in the environmental and medical fields. [Display omitted] •An aptasensor for detecting Erwinia cypripedii.•RGO-ZIF-8 composites derived nanomaterial for QPB detection.•Combination of self-screened aptamers and electrochemical strategy.•The aptasensor has high sensitivity, specificity and simplicity.•The sensing strategy is suitable for rapid customs inspection and quarantine.