Issue 3, 2025

Label-free miRNA fluorescent biosensors based on duplex-specific nucleases and silver nanoclusters

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are considered reliable biomarkers for a variety of diseases. However, their low abundance in organisms and high sequence similarity of homologous miRNAs make their accurate detection challenging. Here, we constructed a novel fluorescent biosensor for the detection of miRNA-155, a potential biomarker of neuroinflammation, based on duplex-specific nuclease (DSN) assisted amplification and DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (DNA-AgNCs) as fluorescence signal probes. DSN-assisted amplification can transform unstable miRNA into stable DNA and amplify the miRNA signal at the same time. Using DNA-AgNCs as fluorescence signal probes for biosensors can avoid complex labeling processes and reduce costs. The biosensor shows excellent selectivity, reproducibility, a wide linear range (1–600 nM) with a detection limit of 0.86 nM, and potentiality for real sample detection. This work provides a potential universal biosensing platform for miRNA detection.

Graphical abstract: Label-free miRNA fluorescent biosensors based on duplex-specific nucleases and silver nanoclusters

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
05 Nov 2024
Accepted
12 Dec 2024
First published
18 Dec 2024

Analyst, 2025,150, 481-488

Label-free miRNA fluorescent biosensors based on duplex-specific nucleases and silver nanoclusters

Y. Zheng, Q. Wang, Z. Jin, T. Zhang, J. Huang, J. Ye and X. Yang, Analyst, 2025, 150, 481 DOI: 10.1039/D4AN01407C

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