Research progress on aptamer-based electrochemiluminescence sensors for detection of mycotoxins in food and environmental samples

Mycotoxins are harmful secondary fungal metabolites that pose a threat to human and animal health. They can be found in a variety of agricultural and food products. Several countries have implemented policies to regulate the presence of contaminants in agricultural and food products intended for both animal and human consumption. As a result, there is a recognized global need to advance highly sensitive and intelligent recognition systems. With advancements in nucleic acid aptamer recognition technology, nanomaterials, and photoelectric sensing, the integration-driven emerging electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptamer sensing technology has shown promising potential in detecting mycotoxin contaminants. ECL aptasensors have the benefits of excellent controllability, a wide dynamic range, easy and rapid operation, high sensitivity, specificity, and play an imperative role in the determination of mycotoxins. However, there is a lack of comprehensive strategies to enhance the sensitivity of ECL for mycotoxin quantification in food, a topic that has not been extensively emphasized and discussed. In this study, we reviewed the recent advancements in ECL aptasensors utilizing aptamers as recognition elements and nanomaterials as active components for the quantitative detection of various mycotoxins in agricultural and food-related samples over the past five years. We also examined the inherent challenges and outlined potential future developments in this field.