Highly sensitive surface plasmon resonance biosensor for the detection of HIV-related DNA based on dynamic and structural DNA nanodevices

Early detection, diagnosis and treatment of human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection is the key to reduce acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) mortality. In our research, an innovative surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensing strategy has been developed for highly sensitive detection of HIV-related DNA based on entropy-driven strand displacement reactions (ESDRs) and double-layer DNA tetrahedrons (DDTs). ESDRs as enzyme-free and label-free signal amplification circuit can be specifically triggered by target DNA, leading to the cyclic utilization of target DNA and the formation of plentiful double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) products. Subsequently, the dsDNA products bind to the immobilized hairpin capture probes and further combine with DDTs nanostructures. Due to the high efficiency of ESDRs and large molecular weight of DDTs, the SPR response signal was enhanced dramatically. The proposed SPR biosensor could detect target DNA sensitively and specifically in a linear range from 1 pM to 150 nM with a detection limit of 48 fM. In addition, the whole detecting process can be accomplished in 60 min with high accuracy and duplicability. In particular, the developed SPR biosensor was successfully used to analyze target DNA in complex biological sample, indicating that the developed strategy is promising for rapid and early clinical diagnosis of HIV infection.