Cationic conjugated polymers as signal reporter for label-free assay based on targets-mediated aggregation of perylene diimide quencher

Herein, we reported a new label-free and fluorescence turn-on biosensor based on cationic conjugated poly(9,9-bis(6'-N,N,N-trimethylammonium)hexyl)fluorine phenylene) (PFP) and perylene diimide derivatives (PDI). Cationic PFP, single-stranded nucleic acid and PDI were used as signal reporter, probe and fluorescence quencher, respectively. In the presence of nucleic acids, they form complexes with PFP and PDI through strong electrostatic attraction interactions, resulting in PDI aggregating on nucleic acids and fluorescence of PFP being quenched. When nucleic acids are hydrolyzed by enzymes or their conformation is changed via recognizing targets, the effective aggregation of PDI is disrupted and the quenching ability is decreased. Thus the fluorescence of PFP recovers significantly. By taking advantage of the mechanism, we construct a new biosensor for endonuclease and small molecules detection. Here, S1 nuclease and bisphenol A are used as model systems. The detection limit of the S1 nuclease and BPA are 1.0×10^-6 U/mL and 0.05 ng/mL, respectively. Our method is sensitive, cost-effective and simple, and provides a new platform for bioanalysis.