The Screening of Aptamers and the Development of a Colorimetric Detection Method for the Pesticide Deltamethrin

Deltamethrin (Del), a widely utilized pyrethroid pesticide, exhibits significant risks to human health due to its persistent environmental residues. This study aims to develop an efficient sensing detector for rapid Del detection through aptamer-based recognition. A modified Capture-SELEX strategy s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Caixia Wu, Wenwei Li, Jiafu Wang, Sheng Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/7/2060
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849730157660602368
author Caixia Wu
Wenwei Li
Jiafu Wang
Sheng Li
author_facet Caixia Wu
Wenwei Li
Jiafu Wang
Sheng Li
author_sort Caixia Wu
collection DOAJ
description Deltamethrin (Del), a widely utilized pyrethroid pesticide, exhibits significant risks to human health due to its persistent environmental residues. This study aims to develop an efficient sensing detector for rapid Del detection through aptamer-based recognition. A modified Capture-SELEX strategy successfully identified Del-1, a high-affinity DNA aptamer demonstrating specific binding to Del with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 82.90 ± 6.272 nM. Molecular docking analysis revealed strong intermolecular interactions between Del-1 and Del, exhibiting a favorable binding energy of −7.35 kcal·mol<sup>−1</sup>. Leveraging these findings, we constructed a colorimetric detector using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and poly dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (PDDA)-mediated aggregation modulation. The sensing detector employed dual detection parameters: (1) a characteristic color transition from red to blue and (2) a quantitative ∆A650/A520 ratio measurement. This optimized system achieved a detection limit of 54.57 ng·mL<sup>−1</sup> with exceptional specificity against other competitive pesticides. Practical validation using spiked fruit samples (apples and pears) yielded satisfactory recoveries of 74–118%, demonstrating the sensor’s reliability in real-sample analysis. The developed methodology presents a promising approach for the on-site monitoring of pyrethroid contaminants in agricultural products.
format Article
id doaj-art-076e40a319654d8ea3c7e8b9be50d418
institution DOAJ
issn 1424-8220
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Sensors
spelling doaj-art-076e40a319654d8ea3c7e8b9be50d4182025-08-20T03:08:59ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-03-01257206010.3390/s25072060The Screening of Aptamers and the Development of a Colorimetric Detection Method for the Pesticide DeltamethrinCaixia Wu0Wenwei Li1Jiafu Wang2Sheng Li3Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Minister of Education), Department of Life Science/Institute of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, ChinaKey Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Minister of Education), Department of Life Science/Institute of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, ChinaKey Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Minister of Education), Department of Life Science/Institute of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, ChinaDepartment of Medical Technology, Chongqing Medical and Pharmaceutical College, Chongqing 400000, ChinaDeltamethrin (Del), a widely utilized pyrethroid pesticide, exhibits significant risks to human health due to its persistent environmental residues. This study aims to develop an efficient sensing detector for rapid Del detection through aptamer-based recognition. A modified Capture-SELEX strategy successfully identified Del-1, a high-affinity DNA aptamer demonstrating specific binding to Del with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 82.90 ± 6.272 nM. Molecular docking analysis revealed strong intermolecular interactions between Del-1 and Del, exhibiting a favorable binding energy of −7.35 kcal·mol<sup>−1</sup>. Leveraging these findings, we constructed a colorimetric detector using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and poly dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (PDDA)-mediated aggregation modulation. The sensing detector employed dual detection parameters: (1) a characteristic color transition from red to blue and (2) a quantitative ∆A650/A520 ratio measurement. This optimized system achieved a detection limit of 54.57 ng·mL<sup>−1</sup> with exceptional specificity against other competitive pesticides. Practical validation using spiked fruit samples (apples and pears) yielded satisfactory recoveries of 74–118%, demonstrating the sensor’s reliability in real-sample analysis. The developed methodology presents a promising approach for the on-site monitoring of pyrethroid contaminants in agricultural products.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/7/2060deltamethrinaptamerCapture-SELEXcolorimetric sensorAuNPs
spellingShingle Caixia Wu
Wenwei Li
Jiafu Wang
Sheng Li
The Screening of Aptamers and the Development of a Colorimetric Detection Method for the Pesticide Deltamethrin
Sensors
deltamethrin
aptamer
Capture-SELEX
colorimetric sensor
AuNPs
title The Screening of Aptamers and the Development of a Colorimetric Detection Method for the Pesticide Deltamethrin
title_full The Screening of Aptamers and the Development of a Colorimetric Detection Method for the Pesticide Deltamethrin
title_fullStr The Screening of Aptamers and the Development of a Colorimetric Detection Method for the Pesticide Deltamethrin
title_full_unstemmed The Screening of Aptamers and the Development of a Colorimetric Detection Method for the Pesticide Deltamethrin
title_short The Screening of Aptamers and the Development of a Colorimetric Detection Method for the Pesticide Deltamethrin
title_sort screening of aptamers and the development of a colorimetric detection method for the pesticide deltamethrin
topic deltamethrin
aptamer
Capture-SELEX
colorimetric sensor
AuNPs
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/7/2060
work_keys_str_mv AT caixiawu thescreeningofaptamersandthedevelopmentofacolorimetricdetectionmethodforthepesticidedeltamethrin
AT wenweili thescreeningofaptamersandthedevelopmentofacolorimetricdetectionmethodforthepesticidedeltamethrin
AT jiafuwang thescreeningofaptamersandthedevelopmentofacolorimetricdetectionmethodforthepesticidedeltamethrin
AT shengli thescreeningofaptamersandthedevelopmentofacolorimetricdetectionmethodforthepesticidedeltamethrin
AT caixiawu screeningofaptamersandthedevelopmentofacolorimetricdetectionmethodforthepesticidedeltamethrin
AT wenweili screeningofaptamersandthedevelopmentofacolorimetricdetectionmethodforthepesticidedeltamethrin
AT jiafuwang screeningofaptamersandthedevelopmentofacolorimetricdetectionmethodforthepesticidedeltamethrin
AT shengli screeningofaptamersandthedevelopmentofacolorimetricdetectionmethodforthepesticidedeltamethrin