Poly-adenine-mediated fluorescent spherical nucleic acid probes for live-cell imaging of endogenous tumor-related mRNA

We have designed and synthesized poly-adenine (polyA)-mediated fluorescent spherical nucleic acid (FSNA) probes for intracellular mRNA detection with regulable sensitivities. Quantitative intracellular mRNA imaging could be achieved with these non-toxic FSNA probes within 2 hours and different levels of mRNA expression could be distinguished, indicating their application potential in rapid and sensitive intracellular target imaging and drug delivery.79