Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, China.
Department of Chemistry and Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, Center for Research at the Bio/Nano Interface, Health Cancer Center, McKnight Brain Institute, UF Genetics Institute, University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida 32611-7200, United States.
ACS Nano. 2017 Apr 25;11(4):3943-3949. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.7b00373. Epub 2017 Mar 20.
Exosomes are extracellular vesicles (50-100 nm) circulating in biofluids as intercellular signal transmitters. Although the potential of cancerous exosomes as tumor biomarkers is promising, sensitive and rapid detection of exosomes remains challenging. Herein, we combined the strengths of advanced aptamer technology, DNA-based nanostructure, and portable electrochemical devices to develop a nanotetrahedron (NTH)-assisted aptasensor for direct capture and detection of hepatocellular exosomes. The oriented immobilization of aptamers significantly improved the accessibility of an artificial nucleobase-containing aptamer to suspended exosomes, and the NTH-assisted aptasensor could detect exosomes with 100-fold higher sensitivity when compared to the single-stranded aptamer-functionalized aptasensor. The present study provides a proof-of-concept for sensitive and efficient quantification of tumor-derived exosomes. We thus expect the NTH-assisted electrochemical aptasensor to become a powerful tool for comprehensive exosome studies.
外泌体是循环在生物体液中的细胞外囊泡（50-100nm），作为细胞间信号的传递者。虽然癌症来源的外泌体作为肿瘤标志物具有广阔的应用前景，但对外泌体的敏感和快速检测仍然具有挑战性。在此，我们结合先进的适体技术、基于 DNA 的纳米结构和便携式电化学设备的优势，开发了一种纳米四面体（NTH）辅助适体传感器，用于直接捕获和检测肝细胞外泌体。适体的定向固定化显著提高了含人工碱基的适体与悬浮外泌体的可及性，与单链适体功能化适体传感器相比，NTH 辅助适体传感器可以检测到灵敏度提高了 100 倍的外泌体。本研究为敏感、高效地定量肿瘤来源的外泌体提供了概念验证。因此，我们期望 NTH 辅助电化学适体传感器成为综合外泌体研究的有力工具。
