Acyclic Cucurbit[n]uril-Enabled Detection of Aflatoxin B1 via Host–Guest Chemistry and Bioluminescent Immunoassay
Shaowen Wu,
Ke Feng,
Jinlu Niu,
Jintao Xu,
Hualian Mo,
Xiaoman She,
Shang-Bo Yu,
Zhan-Ting Li,
Shijuan Yan
Affiliations
Shaowen Wu
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Agro-Biological Gene Research Center, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Ke Feng
State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Lu, Shanghai 200032, China
Jinlu Niu
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Agro-Biological Gene Research Center, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Jintao Xu
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Agro-Biological Gene Research Center, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Hualian Mo
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Agro-Biological Gene Research Center, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Xiaoman She
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of High Technology for Plant Protection, Institute of Plant Protection, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Shang-Bo Yu
State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Lu, Shanghai 200032, China
Zhan-Ting Li
State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Lu, Shanghai 200032, China
Shijuan Yan
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Agro-Biological Gene Research Center, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a highly toxic secondary metabolite produced by Aspergillus species, represents a significant health hazard due to its widespread contamination of agricultural products. The urgent need for sensitive and sustainable detection methods has driven the development of diverse analytical approaches, most of which heavily rely on organic solvents, posing environmental challenges for routine food safety analysis. Here, we introduce a supramolecular platform leveraging acyclic cucurbit[n]uril (acCB) as a host molecule for environmentally sustainable AFB1 detection. Screening various acCB derivatives identified acCB6 as a superior host capable of forming a stable 1:1 complex with AFB1 in an aqueous solution, exhibiting a high binding affinity. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy confirmed that AFB1 was deeply encapsulated within the host cavity, with isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments and molecular dynamics simulations further substantiating the stability of the interaction, driven by enthalpic and entropic contributions. This supramolecular host was incorporated into a scaffold-assembly-based bioluminescent enzyme immunoassay (SA-BLEIA), providing a green detection platform that rivals the performance of traditional organic solvent-based assays. Our findings highlight the potential of supramolecular chemistry as a foundation for eco-friendly mycotoxin detection and offer valuable insights into designing environmentally sustainable analytical methods.
