Abstract
Based on the specific aptamer-functionalized magnetic beads and the hybrid chain reaction (HCR), a rapid detection method for Bacillus cereus was established. B. cereus competes with carboxylfluorescein-labeled cDNA (FAM-cDNA) to bind to biotin-labeled aptamer fixed on streptavidin magnetic beads. After magnetic separation, the released FAM-cDNA was used as an initiator to trigger HCR amplification, significantly enhancing the fluorescence signal. In the absence of B. cereus, the initiator binds to the aptamer, generating only a weak fluorescent signal. More importantly, graphene oxide (GO) can quench the fluorescence of unreacted FAM-cDNA, achieving a more accurate detection effect and thus enabling the detection of B. cereus at lower concentrations. This method has good specificity and can detect B. cereus as low as 5.4×101 CFU/mL. A linear response was observed across the concentration range of 5.4×105 CFU/mL-5.4×101 CFU/mL. The feasibility of this method was verified by detecting B. cereus in artificially contaminated milk samples.
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Acknowledgements
The authors express sincere gratitude to the Enzyme Engineering Laboratory of the College of Food Science and Engineering at Nanjing Agricultural University for the equipment and assistance provided. This study was supported by grants Key Laboratory of Detection and Traceability Technology of Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms, State Administration forMarketRegulation (GrantNo.KFW202503), and Agricultural Independent InnovationProgramin JiangsuProvince (GrantNo.CX(23)3043).
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**X.S.:** Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing-Original draft. **C.S.:** Conceptualization, Methodology. **Y.L.:** Resources, Data curation. **X.L.:** Resources. **X.B.:** Project administration, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing-Review & Editing. **J.Y.:** **Funding acquisition**.
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Song, X., Shi, C., Lv, Y. et al. Aptamer-functionalized magnetic beads combined with hybridization chain reaction for detection of Bacillus cereus. npj Sci Food (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00751-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00751-5
