A novel immunosensor based on cobalt oxide nanocomposite modified single walled carbon nanohorns for the selective detection of aflatoxin B1

We developed a novel, sensitive, and selective platform for the specific determination of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). Single-walled carbon nanohorns decorated by a cobalt oxide composite and gold nanoparticles were created to provide facile electron transfer and improve the sensor's sensitivity. In addition, we attributed the selectivity of the proposed sensor to the specific binding property of the anti-aflatoxin B1 antibody. We clarified the specific interaction of the proposed immunosensor to AFB1 using homology modeling combined with molecular docking. In the presence of AFB1, the current signal of the modified electrode reduced; this involved specific antibody-antigen binding, including hydrophobic hydrogen bonding and pi-pi stack interactions. The new AFB1 sensor platform showed two linearity ranges of 0.01–1 ng mL−1 and 1–100 ng mL−1, with the limit of detection at 0.0019 ng mL−1. We investigated the proposed immunosensor in real samples, including peanuts, certified reference material of a peanut sample (labeled 206 μg kg−1 AFB1), corn, and chicken feed. The sensor's accuracy was 86.1–104.4% recovery, which agrees with the reference HPLC technique using paired t-test analysis. The present work shows excellent performance for AFB1 detection and could be applied for food quality control or modified to detect other mycotoxins. [Display omitted] •A sensitive and selective immunosensor for the determination of AFB1 on a novel SWCNHs-Co3O4 platform was developed.•Molecular calculation was used to confirm the proof-of concept on the structural stability of SWCNHs-Co3O4.•The study of the protein-ligand interaction docking leading to understand the selectivity of the sensor.•The immunosensor expressed a high performance for AFB1 detection in real samples with high accuracy and precision.