Multidisciplinary Laboratory of Nanoneurobiophysics, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, Federal University of São Carlos, Sorocaba-SP, Brazil.
Sensors (Basel). 2013 Jan 24;13(2):1477-89. doi: 10.3390/s130201477.
The use of agrochemicals has increased considerably in recent years, and consequently, there has been increased exposure of ecosystems and human populations to these highly toxic compounds. The study and development of methodologies to detect these substances with greater sensitivity has become extremely relevant. This article describes, for the first time, the use of atomic force spectroscopy (AFS) in the detection of enzyme-inhibiting herbicides. A nanobiosensor based on an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip functionalised with the acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzyme was developed and characterised. The herbicide metsulfuron-methyl, an ALS inhibitor, was successfully detected through the acquisition of force curves using this biosensor. The adhesion force values were considerably higher when the biosensor was used. An increase of ~250% was achieved relative to the adhesion force using an unfunctionalised AFM tip. This considerable increase was the result of a specific interaction between the enzyme and the herbicide, which was primarily responsible for the efficiency of the nanobiosensor. These results indicate that this methodology is promising for the detection of herbicides, pesticides, and other environmental contaminants.
近年来，农用化学品的使用量大幅增加，因此，生态系统和人类群体接触这些剧毒化合物的风险也相应增加。研究和开发更灵敏的检测这些物质的方法变得非常重要。本文首次描述了原子力光谱（AFS）在检测酶抑制性除草剂方面的应用。开发并表征了一种基于原子力显微镜（AFM）尖端的纳米生物传感器，该尖端功能化有乙酰乳酸合酶（ALS）酶。成功地通过使用该生物传感器获取力曲线来检测除草剂甲磺隆甲酯，它是一种 ALS 抑制剂。当使用生物传感器时，粘附力值明显更高。与使用未功能化的 AFM 尖端相比，粘附力增加了约 250%。这种显著的增加是酶和除草剂之间特异性相互作用的结果，这主要是纳米生物传感器效率的原因。这些结果表明，该方法有望用于检测除草剂、农药和其他环境污染物。
