A versatile graphene-based fluorescence “on/off” switch for multiplex detection of various targets

We have designed a versatile molecular beacon (MB)-like probe for the multiplex sensing of targets such as sequence-specific DNA, protein, metal ions and small molecule compounds based on the self-assembled ssDNA–graphene oxide (ssDNA–GO) architecture. The probe employs fluorescence “on/off” switching strategy in a single step in homogeneous solution. Compared to traditional molecular beacons, the proposed design is simple to prepare and manipulate and has little background interference, but still gives superior sensitivity and rapid response. More importantly, this ssDNA–GO architecture can serve as a universal beacon platform by simply changing the types of ssDNA sequences for the different targets. In this work, the ssDNA–GO architecture probe has been successfully applied in the multiplex detection of sequence-specific DNA, thrombin, Ag+, Hg2+ and cysteine, and the limit of detection was 1 nM, 5 nM, 20 nM, 5.7 nM and 60 nM, respectively. The results demonstrate that the ssDNA–GO architecture can be an excellent and versatile platform for sensing multiplex analytes, easily replacing the universal molecular beacon.