Gong Liang, Zhao Zilong, Lv Yi-Fan, Huan Shuang-Yan, Fu Ting, Zhang Xiao-Bing, Shen Guo-Li, Yu Ru-Qin
Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
Chem Commun (Camb). 2015 Jan 21;51(6):979-95. doi: 10.1039/c4cc06855f.
DNAzymes, screened through in vitro selection, have shown great promise as molecular tools in the design of biosensors and nanodevices. The catalytic activities of DNAzymes depend specifically on cofactors and show multiple enzymatic turnover properties, which make DNAzymes both versatile recognition elements and outstanding signal amplifiers. Combining nanomaterials with unique optical, magnetic and electronic properties, DNAzymes may yield novel fluorescent, colorimetric, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), electrochemical and chemiluminescent biosensors. Moreover, some DNAzymes have been utilized as functional components to perform arithmetic operations or as "walkers" to move along DNA tracks. DNAzymes can also function as promising therapeutics, when designed to complement target mRNAs or viral RNAs, and consequently lead to down-regulation of protein expression. This feature article focuses on the most significant achievements in using DNAzymes as recognition elements and signal amplifiers for biosensors, and highlights the applications of DNAzymes in logic gates, DNA walkers and nanotherapeutics.
通过体外筛选获得的脱氧核酶，作为分子工具在生物传感器和纳米器件设计方面展现出了巨大潜力。脱氧核酶的催化活性特别依赖于辅因子，并具有多种酶促周转特性，这使得脱氧核酶既是通用的识别元件，又是出色的信号放大器。将具有独特光学、磁性和电子特性的纳米材料与脱氧核酶相结合，可能会产生新型的荧光、比色、表面增强拉曼散射（SERS）、电化学和化学发光生物传感器。此外，一些脱氧核酶已被用作执行算术运算的功能组件或沿DNA轨道移动的“步行器”。当设计用于互补靶mRNA或病毒RNA时，脱氧核酶还可以作为有前景的治疗剂，从而导致蛋白质表达下调。这篇专题文章重点介绍了将脱氧核酶用作生物传感器的识别元件和信号放大器方面的最重要成果，并突出了脱氧核酶在逻辑门、DNA步行器和纳米治疗中的应用。
