Dual-sensitized heterojunction PDA/ZnO@MoS2 QDs combined with multilocus domino-like DNA cascade reaction for ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical biosensor

In this work, by integrating with a highly efficient multilocus domino-like cascade reaction on DNA nanonet, an ultrasensitive PEC biosensor based on dual-sensitized PDA/ZnO@MoS2 QDs photoactive material as signal probe was proposed for detection of miRNA-182-5p. The dual-sensitized PDA/ZnO@MoS2 QD composed by both of p-n and S-scheme heterojunctions on electrode generated an extremely high initial PEC signal, which however quenched by CdTe QDs decorated on DNA nanonet owing to the significant p-n quenching effect. Thereafter, the output DNA (RS) from DSN enzyme-assisted target recycling amplification triggered an ingenious multilocus domino-like DNA cascade reaction on DNA nanonet for releasing numerous CdTe QDs. Thanks to the multilocus domino-like mode that owned abundant binding sites for increasing trigger efficiency and drove cascade reaction automatically advance along four stated pathways, the target conversion rate could be improved effectively compared with that of traditional approaches, significantly enhancing the detection sensitivity. Consequently, the developed PEC biosensor exhibited a low detection limit to 0.17 fM, providing a new avenue for sensitive, fast and reliable sensing of various DNA/RNA.

Automated summary

In this work, an ultrasensitive PEC biosensor based on dual-sensitized PDA/ZnO@MoS2 QDs photoactive material was proposed for detection of miRNA-182-5p. The DSN-assisted target recycling amplification triggered a multilocus domino-like DNA cascade reaction on DNA nanonet, which significantly enhanced the detection sensitivity. The developed biosensor exhibited a low detection limit of 0.17 fM, providing a new avenue for sensitive, fast and reliable sensing of various DNA/RNA.