Nanostructured biochemical sensor for toxins detection

In this talk, I will present our recent results on the development of a novel, portable, simple, and sensitive plasmonic chip-based optical sensor with high selectivity towards the most toxic aflatoxin B1. The biochemical sensor is based on a thin polymer film with embedded aptamers synthesized to be selective towards specific mycotoxins. Furthermore, the thin film also contains silver plasmonic nanoparticles that enhance the fluorescence signal by the analyte molecules. We have designed, built, and tested the sensitivity and selectivity of the device towards several mycotoxins. We validated the linear dynamic range of the detection of the sensor to be at least within 0.3-25 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter). The limit of detection of the sensor was demonstrated to be at least two orders of magnitude better than those currently available on the market.