Wang Kemin, Tang Zhiwen, Yang Chaoyong James, Kim Youngmi, Fang Xiaohong, Li Wei, Wu Yanrong, Medley Colin D, Cao Zehui, Li Jun, Colon Patrick, Lin Hui, Tan Weihong
Department of Chemistry, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7200, USA.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2009;48(5):856-70. doi: 10.1002/anie.200800370.
Molecular beacons (MBs) are specifically designed DNA hairpin structures that are widely used as fluorescent probes. Applications of MBs range from genetic screening, biosensor development, biochip construction, and the detection of single-nucleotide polymorphisms to mRNA monitoring in living cells. The inherent signal-transduction mechanism of MBs enables the analysis of target oligonucleotides without the separation of unbound probes. The MB stem-loop structure holds the fluorescence-donor and fluorescence-acceptor moieties in close proximity to one another, which results in resonant energy transfer. A spontaneous conformation change occurs upon hybridization to separate the two moieties and restore the fluorescence of the donor. Recent research has focused on the improvement of probe composition, intracellular gene quantitation, protein-DNA interaction studies, and protein recognition.
分子信标（MBs）是专门设计的DNA发夹结构，被广泛用作荧光探针。分子信标的应用范围涵盖基因筛查、生物传感器开发、生物芯片构建、单核苷酸多态性检测以及活细胞中的mRNA监测。分子信标的固有信号转导机制使得无需分离未结合的探针就能分析靶寡核苷酸。分子信标的茎环结构使荧光供体和荧光受体部分紧密相邻，从而导致共振能量转移。杂交时会发生自发的构象变化，使两个部分分离并恢复供体的荧光。最近的研究集中在探针组成的改进、细胞内基因定量、蛋白质 - DNA相互作用研究以及蛋白质识别方面。
