Antifouling lipid membrane coupled with silver nanoparticles for electrochemical detection of nucleic acids in biological fluids

Electrochemical method capable of detecting specific nucleic acids in complex fluid will undoubtedly advance the diagnosis of many kinds of diseases. Herein, by coupling lipid membrane with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), we develop a new electrochemical method for sensitive and reliable detection of nucleic acids in biological fluids. The advantages of lipid membrane especially its excellent antifouling ability is employed to enhance the applicability of the method in complex environment; while the significant solid-state Ag/AgCl response of AgNPs is used to ensure the detection sensitivity of the method. The core of this method's workflow is the target-induced Y-shape structure formation, which results in the recruitment of AgNPs to the electrode surface, producing considerable electrochemical responses used for target nucleic acid detection. Taking highly upregulated in liver cancer (HULC), a liver cancer-related long non-coding RNA as a model target, the method exhibits high sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility with a detection limit of 0.42 fM. Moreover, the method displays desirable usability in biological fluids such as serum, which will be of great potential in clinical diagnosis. (c) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

A new electrochemical method for sensitive and reliable detection of nucleic acids in complex biological fluids was developed by coupling lipid membrane and silver nanoparticles. The method utilizes target-induced Y-shaped structure formation and solid-state Ag/AgCl response of AgNPs to achieve high sensitivity in nucleic acid detection, especially in clinical diagnosis.