A challenging choice of aptamer for selective enrichment of ochratoxin A.

In a recent study conducted by Zhang et al. (2019), the adenosine monophosphate-specific aptamer has been applied for the rapid extraction of ochratoxin A. Although several publications have already reported the selection of adenosine monophosphate, adenosine triphosphate, and adenosine, there is no report on the detection of ochratoxin A using this aptamer. The data of Zhang et al. is surprising since their aptamer-based magnetic metal-organic framework has shown a high selectivity with a very low detection limit for selection of ochratoxin A. However, numerous studies have demonstrated that each aptamer can specifically bind to a target by folding into a unique structure and can differentiate molecules that differ by only one functional group. This study aimed to deal with the possibility of recognizing ochratoxin A and adenosine monophosphate by adenosine monophosphate-specific aptamer. The procedure was performed by determning structural similarity and alignment, docking adenosine monophosphate and ochratoxin A on aptamer and monitoring the interactions between ochratoxin A and adenosine monophosphate specific aptamer complex. The results indicated not only the lack of structural similarity between adenosine monophosphate and ochratoxin A but also the little possibility for strong bonds between the ochratoxin A and aptamer. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.