DNA-based ATP sensing

The detection of ATP is of great value due to its role in the regulation and integration of cellular metabolism. DNA has been developed as a promising recognition element in ATP sensing, among which ATP-binding aptamer (ABA) exhibits many advantages in terms of the simplicity of synthesis, ease of labeling and excellent stability. Moreover, progress in the development of nanomaterials and enzyme amplification provides ABA even more flexibility as an ATP recognition tool in the fields of fluorescence, electrochemistry and colorimetric. In addition to ABA, ATP dependent enzyme reaction (ATP-DER, T4 DNA ligase) using DNA as a substrate has been developed for ATP sensing with high sensitivity and selectivity. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in DNA-based ATP sensors and their applications in living cells, and also discuss their future development.