Ultrasensitive detection of atrazine by Schottky junction photoelectrochemical aptamer sensor based on signal amplification by cascade catalysis of CRISPR/Cas12a and G-quadruplex/hemin DNAzyme.

Atrazine (ATZ) is used extensively, resulting in residues in food and the environment, posing a serious threat to human health. Herein, CdZnS/TiC photoelectric material was synthesized and immobilized on a FTO electrode as a photoanode. A photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptamer sensor was constructed for the highly sensitive and selective determination of ATZ based on signal amplification via cascade catalysis of CRISPR/Cas12a and G-quadruplex/hemin DNAzyme (G4/hemin DNAzyme). G4/hemin DNAzyme catalyses the oxidation reaction between HO and dopamine (DA) to form polydopamine (PDA) deposit. This process, in turn, inhibits the photocurrent at the photoanode, leading to a decrease in photocurrent. Concurrently, the depletion of DA as an electron donor for the PEC reaction at the photoelectrode further contributes to the decrease in photocurrent. ATZ can hybridize with ATZ aptamer (Apt) in Apt/cDNA to release activation strand (cDNA), which activates the activity of CRISPR/Cas12a and triggers cleavage of G4, causing the cleaving of G4/hemin DNAzyme immobilized on the electrode surface. This process leads to a decrease of G4/hemin DNAzymes amount on the electrode, consequently reducing both the PDA generation and the DA consumption. As a result, the photocurrent is restored. The cascade catalysis of CRISPR/Cas12a and G4/hemin DNAzyme has been demonstrated to result in photocurrent amplification. The photocurrent change was linear with the logarithmic value of ATZ concentration in the range 1.00 × 10 to 1.00 × 10 mol/L. The limit of detection was 3.47 × 10 mol/L. The sensor has been successfully applied to the determination of trace ATZ in environmental and food samples.