Characterization of PEDOT film functionalized with a series of automated synthesis ferrocenyl-containing oligonucleotides

In previous works we have described a fully automated synthesis of new ferrocene labelled oligonucleotides (Fc-ODNs) probes with one or more electroactive markers at different position in the chain. These Fc-ODNs have shown good properties to detect ODN target in solution. Here we describe the post-functionalization of a conducting co-polymer based on ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) derivatives by a series of Fc-ODNs. The grafting of the Fc-ODNs probes resulted in the appearance of the ferrocene redox couple which directly confirm the effectiveness of the ODN anchoring compared to traditional approach based on IR spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence of the films. Moreover, the electrochemical response of the modified electrodes analysed in organic media before and after hybridization with ODN target confirm that properties obtain in solution for Fc-ODNs already exist in the film. The changes in the current intensity were found to be dependant on the structure of the grafted ODN that validate our strategy to synthesize an optimal Fc-ODNs.     

基于微流控热泳的生物传感技术※

复杂生命体系中关键分子及微纳生物粒子的高灵敏、高特异检测, 对理解多层次多尺度生物学过程、阐明疾病发生发展机制和探索新型生物标志物等具有重要意义. 微流控生物传感器整合了微流控技术和生物传感技术的诸多优势, 在微量生物样本精准测量方面取得了显著进展. 近年来, 微流控热泳生物传感技术(Thermomicrofluidic biosensing)利用物质在局域温度梯度场中的热泳定向迁移现象, 并结合均相生物传感及信号放大新策略, 实现了复杂样本中生物分子及微纳生物粒子的快速、高灵敏、原位检测. 重点阐述了以热泳为核心的微流控传感技术, 包括微量热泳、热泳-对流耦合、热泳-扩散泳耦合以及热泳-电泳耦合等方法, 总结了不同传感方法的原理、特点及其在生物分子(蛋白、核酸等)与微纳生物粒子(细胞外囊泡、病毒、细胞等)检测中的应用, 并探讨了微流控热泳技术在生物医学检测领域中面临的挑战与未来发展方向.     

不同结构的DNA激活序列对Cas12a反式切割活性的影响

CRISPR－Cas12a系统的反式切割活性在其识别特定的DNA激活序列后被激活,这不仅能实现特定DNA靶标的直接定量分析,同时也为构建针对多种生物标志物的体外传感体系带来了新的思路。然而,已有文献中所采用的双链DNA（dsDNA）和单链DNA（ssDNA）激活序列结构多种多样,缺乏全面、系统的设计指导原则。针对该问题,该文系统研究了不同结构的DNA激活序列对LbaCas12a反式切割活性的影响。通过对比研究,得出以下结论：（1）前间区序列邻近基序（PAM）位点有助于LbaCas12a更高效地靶向结合dsDNA激活序列和ssDNA激活序列;（2）PAM近端区域缺少序列片段会降低Cas12a-crRNA定位激活序列的效率;（3）删除PAM远端序列片段有利于增强LbaCas12a的反式切割活性;（4）由于省略了dsDNA解链过程,ssDNA激活序列在激活LbaCas12a的反式切割活性方面普遍比dsDNA激活序列产生的效果更好。根据这些发现,该文提出了一种LbaCas12a所青睐的高效激活序列结构,其激活的LbaCas2a反式酶切活性较采用含PAM位点的标准dsDNA激活序列高出3.7倍。研究结果为构建基于CRISPR-Cas12a的高效体外生物传感系统提供了重要支撑。     

基于核酸的纸基荧光生物传感器的设计及应用

纸基生物传感器由于其具有成本低、操作方便、生物可降解、识别元件用量低等优点,近年来受到了广泛的关注。其中,以功能核酸作为识别元件的纸基荧光生物传感器具有较高的灵敏度、瞬时响应以及实时检测等特性,在便携式传感设备方面展现出巨大的潜力。此外,将核酸作为识别元件的纸基无细胞蛋白合成平台,通过条件合成的报告荧光蛋白可实现对病毒、重金属等目标物的特异性检测,具有良好的应用前景。首先,本文介绍了基于核酸的纸基荧光生物传感器的设计,特别是基于核酸的识别元件与纸基材料的结合方式。其次,总结了基于核酸的纸基荧光生物传感器在临床诊断、食品安全检测、环境污染物检测等不同领域的最新研究进展,讨论了其优势与局限性。最后,探讨了基于核酸的纸基荧光生物传感器的发展方向与应用前景,以期为相关领域的研究提供参考。     

An Update of Nucleic Acids Aptamers Theranostic Integration with CRISPR/Cas Technology

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas system is best known for its role in genomic editing. It has also demonstrated great potential in nucleic acid biosensing. However, the specificity limitation in CRISPR/Cas has created a hurdle for its advancement. More recently, nucleic acid aptamers known for their high affinity and specificity properties for their targets have been integrated into CRISPR/Cas systems. This review article gives a brief overview of the aptamer and CRISPR/Cas technology and provides an updated summary and discussion on how the two distinctive nucleic acid technologies are being integrated into modern diagnostic and therapeutic applications     

Plasmonic biosensing based on non-noble-metal materials

This review focuses on the research progress of non-noble-metal materials with nanostructures for plasmonic biosensing. Firstly, the physical and sensing principles of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensors are briefly introduced; then non-noble-metal materials, such as copper, aluminum, semiconductor, graphene and other materials, for plasmonic sensing are categorized and presented. Finally, a rational discussion about the future prospective of novel materials for plasmonic sensing is given.     

Nucleation and Growth Synthesis of Siloxane Gels to Form Functional,Monodisperse, and Acoustically Programmable Particles

Nucleation and growth methods offer scalable means of synthesizing colloidal particles with precisely specified size for applications in chemical research, industry, and medicine. These methods have been used to prepare a class of silicone gel particles that display a range of programmable properties and narrow size distributions. The acoustic contrast factor of these particles in water is estimated and can be tuned such that the particles undergo acoustophoresis to either the pressure nodes or antinodes of acoustic standing waves. These particles can be synthesized to display surface functional groups that can be covalently modified for a range of bioanalytical and acoustophoretic sorting applications.     

Covalent Organic Frameworks for Chemical and Biological Sensing

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a class of crystalline porous organic polymers with polygonal porosity and highly ordered structures. The most prominent feature of the COFs is their excellent crystallinity and highly ordered modifiable one-dimensional pores. Since the first report of them in 2005, COFs with various structures were successfully synthesized and their applications in a wide range of fields including gas storage, pollution removal, catalysis, and optoelectronics explored. In the meantime, COFs also exhibited good performance in chemical and biological sensing, because their highly ordered modifiable pores allowed the selective adsorption of the analytes, and the interaction between the analytes and the COFs’ skeletons may lead to a detectable change in the optical or electrical properties of the COFs. In this review, we firstly demonstrate the basic principles of COFs-based chemical and biological sensing, then briefly summarize the applications of COFs in sensing some substances of practical value, including some gases, ions, organic compounds, and biomolecules. Finally, we discuss the trends and the challenges of COFs-based chemical and biological sensing.     

Enhanced Peroxidase‐Like Properties of Graphene–Hemin‐Composite Decorated with Au Nanoflowers as Electrochemical Aptamer Biosensor for the Detection of K562 Leukemia Cancer Cells

Graphene composites with hemin and gold nanoparticles show a better performance for hydrogen peroxide decomposition compared to that of the three components alone or duplex/hybrid complexes. Our previous studies showed that the morphology of the Au nanoparticles may greatly influence the catalytic activity of graphene‐family peroxidase mimics. Recently, we found that Au nanoflowers could grow in situ and form on the surface of hemin/RGO (reduced graphene oxide). The prickly morphology of this Au nanoflower brought a higher catalytic ability with enhanced kinetic parameters than traditional Au nanoparticles that showed a smooth surface. Therefore, based on this discovery, a smart electrochemical aptamer biosensor for K562 leukemia cancer cells was further presented with good performance in selectivity and sensitivity attributed to the excellent mimetic peroxidase catalytic activity of this newly synthesized Au nanoflower decorated graphene–hemin composite (H‐RGO‐Au NFs).     

DNA水凝胶在生物传感中的应用和发展

脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)是一种重要的生物分子,具有许多独特的性质如:信息传递、分子识别、可编辑等。DNA水凝胶同时具有DNA分子和水凝胶材料的优势,并且可以引入其他纳米材料获得多功能杂化水凝胶。相比于传统水凝胶,DNA水凝胶具有良好的特异识别能力以及可以按需设计的性质,从而被广泛应用于生物传感领域。本文围绕DNA水凝胶的合成、响应机制以及在传感领域的应用进行综述。按照不同的合成方法可分为线性DNA链缠绕水凝胶、枝状DNA自组装水凝胶、杂合DNA水凝胶。根据传感机制的不同又可以分为包埋封装法和非包埋封装法,包埋封装发法又分为:酶的包埋释放、抗原-抗体的包埋释放、纳米材料的包埋释放。本文总结了近几年DNA水凝胶在重金属离子检测、核酸检测、葡萄糖检测、蛋白质和代谢小分子检测,以及细胞检测等热门领域的研究情况,最后对其未来的发展进行了展望。