Intracellular activated logic nanomachines based on framework nucleic acids for low background detection of microRNAs in living cells

Abstract

DNA molecular machines based on DNA logic circuits show unparalleled potential in precision medicine. However, delivering DNA nanomachines into real biological systems and ensuring that they perform functions specifically, quickly and logically remain a challenge. Here, we developed an efficient DNA molecular machine integrating transfer-sensor-computation-output functions to achieve high fidelity detection of intracellular biomolecules. The introduction of pH nanoswitches enabled the nanomachines to be activated after entering the cell, and the spatial-confinement effect of the DNA triangular prism (TP) enables the molecular machine to process complex information at the nanoscale, with higher sensitivity and shorter response time than diffuse-dominated logic circuits. Such cascaded activation molecular machines follow the logic of AND to achieve specific capture and detection of biomolecules in living cells through a multi-hierarchical response, providing a new insight into the construction of efficient DNA molecular machines.