Issue 43, 2019

Single-molecule dynamic DNA junctions for engineering robust molecular switches

Abstract

DNA molecular switches have emerged as a versatile and highly programmable toolbox and are extensively used in sensing, diagnosis, and therapeutics. Toehold mediated strand displacement serves as the core reaction for signal transduction and amplification. However, the severe leakage of this reaction limits the development of scalable and robust circuits. We engineered single-molecule dynamic DNA junctions for developing ‘zero-leakage’ molecular switches which are responsive to various inputs. Input binding enhances dynamic junctions' stability allowing for the transient binding of fluorescent probes as the output signal. Unlike the conventional intensity-based output, this molecular switch provides remarkably distinguishable kinetics-based outputs permitting ruling out leakage signals at the single-molecule level. The inputs are detected with significant sensitivity without using any amplification step. It is also revealed that the output signal is sensitive to the binding affinity of inputs and their recognition elements making the molecular switch a potential affinity meter. Considering these features, we anticipate that it would find broad applications in large-scale DNA circuits, responsive materials, and biomolecule interaction study.

Graphical abstract: Single-molecule dynamic DNA junctions for engineering robust molecular switches

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
09 Jūl. 2019
Accepted
04 Okt. 2019
First published
07 Okt. 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 9922-9927

Single-molecule dynamic DNA junctions for engineering robust molecular switches

S. Cai, Y. Deng, S. Fu, J. Li, C. Yu and X. Su, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 9922 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC03389K

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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