A NOVAswitch aptamer to detect a pesticide

The need to detect residues of pesticides in food and water is of utmost importance for protecting the human health and the surrounding environment. Novaptech selected and characterized aptamers to thiabendazole, a fungicide used post- or pre-harvest for fruits (citrus, bananas, …) and vegetables (witloof, sweet potatoes, …). The 38 nt-long optimized DNA aptamer BOL009 was converted in a NOVAswitch sensor for the quantitative detection of this pesticide by fluorescence.