DNA nanotechnology enhanced single-molecule biosensing and imaging

Single-molecule tools enable translating biorecognition events into electrical and optical signals at the single-molecule level. However, the limitations such as poor specificity, low signal-to-noise, low throughput, and lack of proper molecular receptors between analyte and instrument still hamper the development of single-molecule sensing and imaging. DNA nanotechnology harnesses DNA as a building block, making use of programmable base-pairing to assemble strands into complex shapes, or to orchestrate chemical reaction networks. The involvement of DNA nanotechnology in single-molecule tools not only improves the sensitivity and specificity but also provides molecular receptors and rulers in certain applications such as nanopore sensing, mechanochemical sensing, and super-resolution imaging. This review outlines the progress toward DNA nanotechnology and discusses how DNA nano technology enhances single-molecule sensing and imaging to address the above-mentioned challenges. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Single-molecule tools, with the application of DNA nanotechnology, not only improve sensitivity and specificity, but also provide molecular receptors and rulers, helping to address the challenges hindering the development of single-molecule sensing and imaging.