Light-activated, dual-mode fluorescence and colorimetric detection of estradiol with high fidelity based on aptamer’s special recognition

The intake of estradiol residue from food will lead to health problems, so the rapid and reliable detection of estradiol residue is essential. Multi-mode assays are inherently self-correcting and self-validating, providing more reliable, interference-resistant, high-fidelity results. Here, we developed a dual-mode method to achieve a rapid, reliable, and sensitive detection of estradiol. The binding of thioflavin T to the cavity sites of estradiol aptamer not only generates a strong fluorescence signal, but also provides light-activated oxidase activity to produce a blue oxidation product. But the specific binding between aptamer and estradiol will compete with the above process. Thus a dual-mode fluorescence and colorimetric detection of estradiol was realized with a detection limit of 0.15 μM or 0.27 μM. Besides, the dual-mode method showed a good selectivity for estradiol detection. The method could detect estradiol in meat food, showing a good application potential to monitor endocrine-disrupting chemical.