Ultrasensitive detection of aflatoxin B1 and its major metabolite aflatoxin M1 using aptasensors: A review

In regard to tremendous toxicological effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and its major metabolite aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) on human health, quality assessment of food is of great importance. On the other hand, due to extremely low levels of these toxic metabolites in food and feed, the need to develop reliable and sensitive method is inevitable. Although, very different analytical techniques have been introduced for detection of them, hindrances such as time-consuming, labor-intensive, and highly-priced instruments have limited their uses. Aptasensors, as emerging methods, have opened new horizons for sensitive and selective detection of toxins. Aptamers are a new class of characteristic bio-recognition elements, provided by an in vitro process named SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichments). This review discusses aptasensors developed for detection of AFB1 and AFM1. Additionally, we aimed to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of these systems and introduce the best ones.