传感器类型
荧光生物传感器
检测对象
SARS病毒DNA(SARS viral DNA)、ATP(三磷酸腺苷,ATP);样品基质为缓冲液(1×TAE-Mg buffer)/溶液样品,未涉及临床或环境基质。
检测原理
该传感器以DNA瓦片自组装二维纳米阵列为支撑,阵列上携带被发夹或适配体抑制剂保护的HCR引发链。加入SARS病毒DNA时,靶标与瓦片上发夹探针部分杂交,使发夹由闭合态转为开放态并释放引发链;加入ATP时,ATP与适配体结合引起链置换,同样释放引发链。暴露的引发链打开溶液中的H1发夹,随后H1与H2交替级联杂交,形成带缺口的长双链DNA,并将标记荧光染料的H1富集到阵列表面。由于HCR为等温、无酶级联反应,少量靶标可触发大量荧光标记物局部积累,使荧光强度随靶标浓度增加而增强。最终通过共聚焦荧光显微镜读取阵列红色或绿色荧光增强,实现高灵敏检测。
检测灵敏度
LOD: 1 nM(SARS viral DNA);LOD: 10 µM(ATP)
效应效果
系统具有良好特异性:无靶标时无HCR荧光,加入靶标后HCR仅发生在自组装DNA阵列上。SARS病毒DNA在1 nM可被观察到;10 nM时因靶标不足,不同阵列开启不均,荧光深浅不一。ATP检测存在背景泄漏,但10 µM ATP引起的荧光变化可明显区分。作者称瓦片上HCR检测高度可重复,可从荧光显微镜图像获得定量数据,并在低靶标/探针比(如1:200)下有效检测。与无信号放大系统相比,SARS病毒DNA和ATP灵敏度均提高约两个数量级;ATP检测限约10 µM,比适配体Kd约600 µM低约两个数量级。作者认为该平台可拓展至其他寡核苷酸和适配体结合分子,并与组合编码策略结合实现高灵敏多路检测。
传感器的构成
- 成像基底:玻璃载玻片与盖玻片(glass slide/cover slip),承载样品并用于共聚焦荧光显微镜读取。
- 支撑/组织模块:DNA瓦片(DNA tile,A1/A2检测瓦片与B连接瓦片)通过黏性末端自组装成二维水溶性DNA纳米阵列,提供纳米级定位。
- 识别元件:SARS检测中为瓦片上发夹探针(on-tile hairpin),与SARS病毒DNA部分杂交后打开;ATP检测中为ATP适配体抑制剂(ATP aptamer inhibitor),ATP结合后链置换。
- HCR引发链:ssDNA initiator,被发夹或适配体抑制剂保护,靶标存在时暴露并触发HCR。
- 信号放大元件:H1和H2发夹DNA(H1/H2 hairpins),H1标记荧光染料,H2未标记,二者级联杂交形成带缺口双链DNA。
- 信号标记物:SARS检测用rhodamine red标记H1,ATP检测用Alexa Fluor 488标记H1;阵列分别用YOYO-1或Cy5标记以定位/对照。
中文摘要
本文报道了一种基于DNA瓦片(DNA tile)自组装纳米阵列的生物传感平台,并通过杂交链式反应(HCR)实现信号放大,以提高检测灵敏度。该平台由可水溶性自组装的DNA纳米阵列作为支撑与组织模块,并在阵列上携带特定识别探针作为检测模块。当加入目标分子时,识别元件被触发,释放HCR引发链,使两种发夹DNA探针在阵列表面发生级联杂交,形成带缺口的长双链DNA,并富集荧光标记物,从而在共聚焦荧光显微镜下产生可观察的荧光增强。作者以SARS病毒DNA和ATP为模型靶标验证了系统的通用性。与未引入信号放大的先前系统相比,两种靶标的检测灵敏度均提高约两个数量级。该工作证明HCR可在DNA瓦片纳米阵列上高效进行,为构建高灵敏、多路生物传感系统提供了概念验证,并有望与组合编码策略结合用于纳米医学应用。
英文摘要
AIMS: Herein, we report our work to improve the detection sensitivity of a DNA-tile-based and self-assembled biosensing platform. This was achieved using hybridization chain reaction (HCR) as a signal amplifier on a water-soluble self-assembled DNA nanoarray carrying detection probes.
MATERIALS & METHODS: The fluorescence enhancement on the addition of specific detection targets was observed directly by confocal fluorescence microscopy.
RESULTS & DISCUSSION: The versatility of the system was demonstrated by successful detection of SARS viral DNA and ATP. Improvement of sensitivity by two orders of magnitude was achieved for both targets, compared with our previously reported system without signal amplification.
CONCLUSION: In summary, this work provides proof-of-concept that HCR can occur efficiently on DNA-tile-based nanoarrays, thus facilitating more sensitive detection. The merging of HCR with combinatorial encoding systems to realize highly sensitive and multiplexed biosensing may provide new tools for nanomedical applications.