(50a) Development of Aptamer-Based SWNTs Biosensor for Antibiotics Detection in Waste Water

Oxytetracycline (OTC) is a member of the broad-spectrum tetracycline (TC) group of antibiotics. TCs are widely used to prevent bacterial infections in livestock and increase their growth rate. Hence a large percentage of the antibiotics is either accumulated in tissues or excreted and released into the environment via manure and sludge used as fertilizer on fields or effluent from aquaculture. Ultimately, this accumulation is likely to have serious implications for human health. Traditionally, chromatography methods, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS), have been used for the detection of TCs in food products. Although these methods provide simultaneous and accurate detection of TCs, they demand expensive equipment, tedious sample extraction procedures, and expert technical skill. Thus, simple, fast and easy to use  methods are needed for OTC detection. Here we develop a simple and highly sensitive aptamer-based single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) biosensor containing probe-DNA immobilized on functionalized SWNTs was developed for a miniature environmental monitoring with faster response time. Employing simple directed assembly and non-covalent functionalization process these fabricated probe DNA-based SWNTs biosensors were designed with two electrode terminals to allow continuous resistance response monitoring for the antibiotics detection. The developed environmental sensor had detection range of 20~325 nM, 22 orders of repeatability continuously, and 30 days of stability. In addition, its inherent small size can make this biosensor potentially useful for simple potable model for industrial applications.