Recent progress on DNAzyme-based biosensors for pathogen detection

Abstract

Pathogens endanger food safety, agricultural productivity, and human health. Those pathogens are spread through direct/indirect contact, airborne transmission and food/waterborne transmission, and some cause severe health consequences. As the population grows and global connections intensify, the transmission of infectious diseases expands. Traditional detection methods for pathogens still have some shortcomings, such as time-consuming procedures and high operational costs. To fulfil the demands for simple and effective detection, numerous biosensors have been developed. DNAzyme, a unique DNA structure with catalytic activity, is gradually being applied in the field of pathogen detection owing to its ease of preparation and use. In this review, we concentrated on the two main types of DNAzyme, hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzyme (HGD) and RNA-cleaving DNAzyme (RCD), explaining their research progress in pathogen detection. Furthermore, we introduced two additional novel DNAzymes, CLICK 17 DNAzyme and Supernova DNAzyme, which showed promising potential in pathogen detection. Finally, we summarize the strengths and weaknesses of these four DNAzymes and offer feasible recommendations for the development of biosensors.