Work

An Allosteric Dual-DNAzyme Unimolecular Probe for Colorimetric Detection of Copper(II)

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: An effective dual-DNAzyme-based unimolecular probe design employing intramolecular signal transduction is demonstrated. The probe is composed of three domains: a DNA-cleaving DNAzyme, a substrate, and an HRP-mimicking DNAzyme. When the probe meets its target, cleavage of the substrate by the DNA-cleaving DNAzyme activates the HRP-mimicking DNAzyme, producing a colorimetric signal. The Cu(2+)-dependent DNAzyme engineered to demonstrate this design revealed a sensitivity corresponding to 65 ppb, which is sufficient to detect Cu(2+) in drinking water. The new probe has excellent selectivity toward Cu(2+). This three-component design is simple and easy to engineer. It may provide the basis for future development of other nucleic acid-based probes for toxicological and environmental monitoring.

Source: Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI: 10.1021/ja9062426

Authors: Bin-Cheng Yin, Bang-Ce Ye, Weihong Tan, Hui Wang, Cong-Cong Xie

Institutions: East China University of Science and Technology, University of Florida, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering

Language: English

Topic: Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Award: Development of molecular probes for biomedical applications