Establishment of a graphene oxide-assisted nucleic acid chromatography strip detection technology for Prorocentrum minimum

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 2024-05, Vol.202, p.116354-116354, Article 116354
• Main Authors: Zhang, Dong, Shuai, Mao, Zhang, Chunyun, Wang, Yuanyuan, Chen, Guofu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chromatography - methods; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Graphene oxide; Graphite - chemistry; Harmful Algal Bloom; Harmful algal blooms; Nucleic acid chromatography strip; Nucleic Acids - analysis; Prorocentrum minimum
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116354

In recent decades, the harmful algal blooms (HABs) caused by Prorocentrum minimum have caused serious environmental damage and economic losses. The detection of P. minimum plays an important role in warning the outbreak of P. minimum-forming HABs. By utilizing the powerful absorption of graphene oxide (GO) on short-stranded DNA, a GO-assisted nucleic acid chromatography strip (GO-NACS) was proposed here to achieve a highly sensitive, specific, intuitive, and convenient detection of P. minimum. In particular, this study used our previously reported conventional-NACS (C-NACS) as a control to evaluate the improvement of detection performance with the use of GO. The performance of GO-NACS was evaluated from the perspectives of specificity, sensitivity, stability, and practicality. The specificity test demonstrated that it had a high degree of specificity and did not display cross-reacting with non-target algal species. The sensitivity test with the genomic DNA indicated that it had a detection limit of 1.30 × 10−3 ng μL−1, representing a 10-fold higher sensitivity than C-NACS and a 100-fold higher sensitivity than agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE). The interference test with non-target algal species demonstrated that it had a good detection stability, and the interfering algal species had no obvious effect on the detection of P. minimum. The practicality test with simulated natural water samples showed that the cellular detection limit of GO-NACS was 6.8 cells mL−1, which was 10-fold and 100-fold lower than that of C-NACS and AGE, respectively. In conclusion, the established GO-NACS may offer a novel alternative technique for the detection of P. minimum while guaranteeing specificity and enhancing sensitivity without requiring extensive apparatus. •A GO-NACS method that can visually detect Prorocentrum minimum was developed.•The developed GO-NACS is specific and it is more sensitive than conventional-NACS.•GO-NACS is competent for convenient and accurate analysis of samples.•This study provides a new method for the rapid detection of harmful microalgae.