Research Specifications

Methamphetamine (MAMP), N-methyl-1-phenylpropane-2-amine, has been warned as one of the most popular psychostimulants in the world [1]. The abuse of this industrial opiate causes unconventional mental behaviors with severe heart and respiratory problems, stroke and death [2]. Although several studies have focused on MAMP sensing, a highly sensitive and selective method for accurate tracking of trace amounts of MAMP in the streets samples with complex matrices is still necessary for clinical and judicial organizations to overcome the global addiction problem. Since the aptamer as a highly selective bioreceptor can trap MAMP among different molecules with similar structures or properties, we propose a novel aptasensor for accurate and sensitive MAMP measurement in human serum, urine and saliva samples. The aptasensor works based on the aptamer immobilized on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) modified by hollow carbon spheres (HCS) and silver nanocubes (Ag NCs). In the MAMP presence, the aptamer arm wraps around MAMP and the electrochemical signal of ferro/ferri cyanide as the redox probe is correspondingly changed by the space barrier increasing. The aptamer can detect MAMP in a broad range of 1 pM to 50 mM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.02 pM. Since the practical efficiency of MAMP aptasensor has been evaluated appropriately in human serum, urine and saliva samples, the proposed method is promising for MAMP measuring under a non-invasive strategy.