One-step colorimetric detection of Staphylococcus aureus based on target-induced shielding against the peroxidase mimicking activity of aptamer-functionalized gold-coated iron oxide nanocomposites

Abstract Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is one of the most threatened food-borne pathogens. Thus, it is necessary to establish fast, portable and reliable tools to realize the identification of S. aureus. Herein, the authors describe an effective colorimetric-based biosensor for the detection of S. aureus in multiple types of samples. Initially, a nanozyme composed of gold and iron oxide nanoparticles was synthesized and further modified with S. aureus-specific aptamer via Au–S bond. By utilizing the intrinsic peroxidase-like activity of the above magnetic conjugates, 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) can be transferred to oxTMB by oxidation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), resulting in a visible blue color. However, the introduction of S. aureus can turn off the UV–vis absorbance signals of TMB-H2O2 system, due to the identification property of the nanozyme probe. Consequently, the optical density of the mixed solution measured at 652 nm decreased linearly as the concentration of S. aureus increased from 10 to 106 CFU mL−1, with the visible limit of detection as low as 10 CFU mL−1. The as-prepared sensor can detect S. aureus in spiked water, milk and urine samples quantitatively during 12 min without any pre-enrichment, separation or washing steps. In our perception, the one-step colorimetric assay show promise in practical on-site detection of S. aureus.