A G-quadruplex based platform for label-free monitoring of DNA reaction kinetics

Abstract

Research on the kinetic characteristics and mechanisms of DNA reactions is crucial for bioengineering and biosensing. A G-quadruplex, which can form a peroxidase-mimicking DNAzyme with hemin, was for the first time used to establish a versatile platform for kinetic investigations on DNA reactions. G-quadruplex sequence EAD2 was incorporated into the corresponding nucleic acid reaction as product. The kinetic curves can be obtained rapidly and simply via the quantification of created DNAzyme. In this paper, the kinetics of isothermal linear strand displacement amplification reactions with different DNA lengths and isothermal exponential amplification reactions were successfully elucidated via the G-quadruplex based monitoring platform. As a safe and accessible alternative to the traditional methods, this robust, label-free, time-saving and high-throughput platform shows great potential for the exploration of more novel DNA reactions or circuits in an ingenious manner.