Smart Programmable Scalable Dual-Mode Diagnostic Logic Nanoflare Strategy for Dual-Tumor Marker Detection

ABSTRACT: Compared with the single-marker detection scheme, the detection of multiple targets in the complex cell and biological environment can obtain more reliable detection results. Herein, we detected miRNA-21 and APE1 in two modes, AND and OR, respectively, based on gold nanoflares and simple logic components. In both modes, DNAzyme and APE1 can get rich fluorescence recovery results by breaking the DNA strands from the gold nanorods (AuNRs) and unquenching under different conditions. In vivo and in vitro experiments suggest that both nanoflares exhibit excellent biocompatibility and make efficient and sensitive judgments on the two targets. This strategy emphasizes the reuse nature of enzymes, and a small amount of target can generate a large amount of fluorescent signal in the logic device, which greatly reduces the detection limit when monitoring low-abundance targets. Since the short-stranded DNA component of the detection device is simple in composition and easy to program its probe sequence, it can be expanded into a detection system for the detection of other sets of related markers, which increases its potential for clinical application.

Automated summary

Compared with single-marker detection, the detection of multiple targets in complex environments can provide more reliable results. In this study, miRNA-21 and APE1 were detected using gold nanoflares and simple logic components, demonstrating excellent biocompatibility and high sensitivity. The strategy highlights the reuse of enzymes, reducing the detection limit for low-abundance targets and expanding its potential for application.