A Novel Real-time Fluorescence Mutant-allele-specific Amplification Method for Rapid Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Analysis

Current methods for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis are time-consuming and complicated. We aimed at development of one-step real-time fluorescence mutant-allele-specific amplification (MASA) method for rapid SNP analysis. The method is a marriage of two technologies: MASA primers for target DNA and a double-stranded DNA-selective fluorescent dye, SYBR Green I. Genotypes are separated according to the different threshold cycles of the wild-type and mutant primers. K-rar oncogene was used as a target to validate the feasibility of the method. The experimental results showed that the different genotypes can be clearly discriminated by the assay. The real-time fluorescence MASA method will have an enormous potential for fast and reliable SNP analysis due to its simplicity and low cost.     

利用无标记的分子信标及核酸染料SYBR Green Ⅰ检测乙肝病毒

本文以野生型的乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)核酸片段为研究对象,利用无标记的分子信标及核酸染料SYBR Green I,建立了一种高灵敏、高选择性的特定序列核酸检测方法.在优化条件下,目标DNA浓度为4×10-11~400×10-11 mol/L之间时,SYBR Green I的荧光强度(ΔI)与目标DNA的浓度(C)具有良好的线性关系,其拟合的回归方程为ΔI=1.9556 C+31.4659(R2=0.9956),方法检测限(3ζ)为2×10-11 mol/L.该方法操作简单、检测速度快、灵敏度高、重现性好、检出限低.利用该方法,结合不对称PCR技术,实现了对HBV的定量检测.     

Comparison of benzothiazole-based dyes for sensitive DNA detection

For efficient and quantitative DNA detection, fluorescence staining is the most often explored approach, which relies on non-covalent binding of dyes with double stranded DNA (dsDNA). Ethidium bromide (EB) is the most classic DNA stain, but suffers from its high carcinogenicity. A series of less toxic alternatives were developed, many of which contain the core structure of the benzothiazole ring. However, the relationship between the structure and the DNA detection performance was not illustrated. Herein, five benzothiazole dyes, namely thiazole orange, SYBR Green I, PicoGreen, SYBR Safe, and thioflavine-T, were compared for DNA detection through direct fluorescence and gel electrophoresis, with particular focus on the structure-performance relationship. It turned out that SYBR Green I is currently the best choice for DNA detection. The results in this work may be useful for future DNA-staining dye developments.     

基于功能核酸的水中汞离子荧光检测方法

二价汞离子作为一种重要的环境污染物，一直以来受到国内外广泛关注。基于T-T错配的Hg2+检测极大依赖于汞选择性寡聚核苷酸（MSO）的设计，利用SYBR Green I对目前所报道的汞离子探针进行了优化，研究了若干种MSO探针与Hg2+的结合响应，在对探针二级结构进行分析和讨论的基础上，提出最优的富T探针序列，并由此建立了一种基于SYBR Green I的水中汞离子快速、便捷的荧光检测方法。最终测得3种实际水样的加标回收率在82.8％~101.8％之间，相对标准偏差小于15%，表明该方法受环境基质的影响较小，可应用于实际水样中的汞离子检测。     

Label-Free Fluorescent Aptasensor Based on a Graphene Oxide Self-Assembled Probe for the Determination of Adenosine Triphosphate

A sensitive and selective fluorescent aptasensor for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was fabricated, composed of unbound SYBR Green I, graphene oxide, and a label-free detection probe. When ATP and complementary DNA of a signal probe were introduced, π-stacking interactions repelled the probe from the graphene oxide and formed a DNA-SYBR Green I duplex structure, triggering an increase in the fluorescence. ATP was determined over a linear range of 10 to 700 nM with a detection limit of 1 nM. The method displayed good selectivity, and is currently the most sensitive ATP fluorescence method. Furthermore, prominent fluorescence signals were also obtained in cellular assays. Consequently, the biosensor may have significant applications in protein, pathogenic microorganisms, and small molecule detection.     

A novel ratiometric fluorescent aptasensor accurately detects patulin contamination in fruits and fruits products

Patulin (PAT) contamination in fruit and fruit products is a significant public health concern. Here, we developed a ratiometric fluorescent aptasensor for PAT detection based on aptamer-recognition and Exonuclease III amplification. Two structure selective dyes, SYBR Green I (SGI) and N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX (NMM), were used as fluorescent probes. In the developed biosensing system, the binding of PAT to aptamer triggered the liberation of cDNA. Subsequently, amplification was mediated by Exonuclease III. S1 was released from the S1-S2 duplex by enzymatic hydrolyzation and incorporated into a stable G-quadruplex. As a result, the fluorescence of SGI decreased, whereas that of NMM increased. There was a strong linear correlation between the relative fluorescence intensity and PAT concentrations (20 to 500 ng·L^?1 range) (R² = 0.99). The biosensing system was highly sensitive, and could detect PAT concentration as low as 4.7 ng·L^?1. The sensor was also highly specific, and could differentiate PAT from several other related mycotoxins. In summary, we developed a new bioassay for the accurate detection of PAT contamination in fruits and fruit products. This research provides a new approach for developing ratiometric bioassays based on structure-selective dyes and enzymatic conversion processes.     

Nanoliter droplet array for microRNA detection based on enzymatic stem-loop probes ligation and SYBR Green real-time PCR

In this paper, a nanoliter droplet array based on enzymatic stem-loop probes ligation and SYBR Green real-time PCR for quantification of microRNA was developed. By employing T4 RNA ligase 2 instead of T4 DNA ligase, we designed simplified stem-loop probes to perform microRNA-templated DNA ligation and reduced the non-specific ligation of T4 DNA ligase. SYBR green I dye was employed instead of TaqMan probes in present miniaturized real-time PCR systems. Specifically, we optimized the dosage of SYBR Green I dye in nanoliter droplet and verified the performance of this system by detecting synthetic mir-122 with a 6 logs dynamic range (from 1.5 × 10⁵ to 1.5 × 10¹⁰ copies). Linear relationship of the standard curve (R² = 0.9997) and high PCR amplification efficiency (96.83%) were obtained under the optimized conditions. We detected the expression of mir-122 across five mouse tissues and the result was consistent with that TaqMan microRNA assay. We think this miniaturized real-time PCR platform reduced the detection cost considerably, thus showing the great potential to quantitative biology.     

银纳米粒子的SERS效应和SEF效应在微流控芯片光学检测中的应用

银纳米离子的SERS技术和SEF技术的信号检测灵敏度非常高,可以用在微流控芯片的定量分析中。为了提高微流控芯片光学检测技术的检测精度,提出一种在微通道中添加银纳米粒子来增强SYBR GreenⅠ拉曼和荧光信号的方法,并对该方法的原理和增强效果进行了研究。首先,利用准分子激光器在PMMA基板上直写刻蚀出宽200 μm、深68 μm的微通道,接着将制备的银前体溶液加入微通道,通过加热制备出表面增强拉曼（SERS）和表面增强荧光（SEF）基板,接下来对添加银纳米粒子前后的拉曼和荧光信号分别进行对比,进一步研究了微通道中不同浓度银纳米粒子对SYBR GREEN I的拉曼和荧光信号增强效果。添加银纳米粒子后,表面增强拉曼（SERS）实验的增强因子为3.5×10³,添加银纳米粒子的样品的荧光信号强度与不含银纳米粒子样品的荧光信号强度相比,约增加了1倍。结果表明,在微通道中检测SYBR Green I时通过增加银纳米粒子显著地增强了拉曼和荧光信号,这种方法可以用在以SYBR GreenⅠ做染料的微流控芯片检测技术中。     

Comparison of benzothiazole-based dyes for sensitive DNA detection

For efficient and quantitative DNA detection, fluorescence staining is the most often explored approach, which relies on non-covalent binding of dyes with double stranded DNA (dsDNA). Ethidium bromide (EB) is the most classic DNA stain, but suffers from its high carcinogenicity. A series of less toxic alternatives were developed, many of which contain the core structure of the benzothiazole ring. However, the relationship between the structure and the DNA detection performance was not illustrated. Herein, five benzothiazole dyes, namely thiazole orange, SYBR Green I, PicoGreen, SYBR Safe, and thioflavine-T, were compared for DNA detection through direct fluorescence and gel electrophoresis, with particular focus on the structure-performance relationship. It turned out that SYBR Green I is currently the best choice for DNA detection. The results in this work may be useful for future DNA-staining dye developments.     

Toward decentralized analysis of mercury (II) in real samples. A critical review on nanotechnology-based methodologies

In recent years, it has increased the number of works focused on the development of novel nanoparticle-based sensors for mercury detection, mainly motivated by the need of low cost portable devices capable of giving fast and reliable analytical response, thus contributing to the analytical decentralization. Methodologies employing colorimetric, fluorometric, magnetic, and electrochemical output signals allowed reaching detection limits within the pM and nM ranges. Most of these developments proved their suitability in detecting and quantifying mercury (II) ions in synthetic solutions or spiked water samples. However, the state of art in these technologies is still behind the standard methods of mercury quantification, such as cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma techniques, in terms of reliability and sensitivity. This is mainly because the response of nanoparticle-based sensors is highly affected by the sample matrix. The developed analytical nanosystems may fail in real samples because of the negative incidence of the ionic strength and the presence of exchangeable ligands. The aim of this review is to critically consider the recently published innovations in this area, and highlight the needs to include more realistic assays in future research in order to make these advances suitable for on-site analysis.