Issue 46, 2023

A fuel-initiated DNA molecular machine for microRNA detection in serum via poly-adenine-mediated spherical nucleic acids

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as promising disease diagnostic biomarkers. However, it is challenging to sensitively detect miRNAs, especially in complex biological environments, due to their low abundance and small size. Herein, we have developed a DNA-fueled molecular machine for sensitive detection of miRNA-22 (miR-22) in undiluted serum by combining poly-adenine-mediated spherical nucleic acids (polyA-SNAs) with a toehold mediated strand displacement reaction (TMSDR). The polyA-SNAs are constructed by the assembly of diblock DNA probes on a AuNP surface through the high binding affinity of polyA to AuNPs. The surface density of the diblock DNA probe can be controlled by tuning the length of the polyA block, and the orientation of the diblock DNA probe can adopt an upright conformation, which is beneficial to target hybridization and TMSDRs. TMSDR is an enzyme-free target recycling amplification approach. Taking advantage of polyA-mediated SNAs and TMSDR, the operation of the molecular machine based on two successive TMSDRs on polyA20-SNAs is rapid and efficient, which can significantly amplify the fluorescence response for detection of miR-22 in an undiluted complex matrix. The developed sensor can detect as low as 10 pM of target miRNA/DNA in undiluted fetal bovine serum within 30 min. The synergetic effect of polyA-mediated SNAs and TMSDR presents a potential alternative tool for the detection of biomarkers in real biological samples.

Graphical abstract: A fuel-initiated DNA molecular machine for microRNA detection in serum via poly-adenine-mediated spherical nucleic acids

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 oct. 2023
Accepted
31 oct. 2023
First published
01 nov. 2023

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023,11, 11052-11063

A fuel-initiated DNA molecular machine for microRNA detection in serum via poly-adenine-mediated spherical nucleic acids

M. Gu, X. Yi, Z. Shang, X. Nong, M. Lin and F. Xia, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023, 11, 11052 DOI: 10.1039/D3TB02361C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements