Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7231204 | Biosensors and Bioelectronics | 2016 | 5 Pages |
Abstract
The detection of nucleic acid sequences is of great importance in a variety of fields. An ultrasensitive DNA sensing platform is constructed using elaborately designed diblock hairpin probes (DHPs) that are composed of hairpin and poly-adenine blocks. The introduction of an initiator DNA target triggers the catalytic assembly of probes DHP1, DHP2 and DHP3 to fabricate numerous poly-adenine-tailed branched DNA junctions, which significantly amplify the signal of the target-DNA-recognizing event without any enzyme. Coupled to a gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric assay, the amplified recognition signal can be quantitatively detected or visually read with the naked eye. The combination of the high-efficiency target-catalyzed DHP assembly and sensitive gold-based colorimetric assay offers an ultrasensitive detection of DNA with a detection limit of 0.1Â pM and a dynamic range from 0.01 to 5Â pM. The proposed sensing platform can discriminate even single-base mutations. Moreover, the sensing platform can be expanded to detect pollutant-degrading-bacteria-specific DNA sequences. The proposed sensing system should offer an alternative approach for the detection of nucleic acids in the fields of microbiology, biogeochemistry, and environmental sciences.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Authors
Junlin Wen, Junhua Chen, Li Zhuang, Shungui Zhou,