A DNA-templated silver nanocluster probe for label-free, turn-on fluorescence-based screening of homo-adenine binding molecules

A novel, label-free, turn-on fluorescence strategy to detect molecules that bind to adenine-rich DNA sequences has been developed. The probe employs DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (DNA-AgNCs) as the key detection component. The new strategy relies on the formation of non-Watson-Crick homo-adenine DNA duplex, triggered by strong interactions with homo-adenine binding molecules, which brings a guanine-rich sequence in one strand close to DNA-AgNCs located on the opposite strand. This phenomenon transforms weakly fluorescent AgNCs into highly emissive species that display bright red fluorescence. Finally, we have shown that the new fluorescence turn-on strategy can be employed to detect coralyne, the most representative homo-adenine binding molecule that triggers formation of a non-Watson-Crick homo-adenine DNA duplex.