The Key Lab of Health Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of Suzhou, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science , Soochow University , Suzhou , 215123 , P. R. China.
Bio-Ultrastructure Analysis Lab, Analysis Center of Agrobiology and Environmental Sciences , Zhejiang University , Hangzhou , 310058 , P. R. China.
ACS Sens. 2019 Jan 25;4(1):250-256. doi: 10.1021/acssensors.8b01422. Epub 2018 Dec 19.
Molecular circuits capable of implementing Boolean logic in cellular environments have emerged as an important tool for in situ sensing, elucidating, and modulating cell functions. The performance of existing molecular computation devices in living cells is limited because of the low level of biomolecular inputs and moderate signal gain. Herein, we devised a new class of DNA-programmed nanoparticle network with integrated molecular computation and signal amplification functions for logic sensing of dual microRNA (miRNA) molecules in living cells. The nanoparticle network, which is composed of DNA-bridged gold nanoparticles and quantum dots (QDs), could simultaneously interface with two miRNA molecules, amplify the molecular inputs, perform a calculation through AND logic gate, and generate QD photoluminescence (PL) as an output signal. Significant improvement in imaging sensitivity is achieved by integrating the signal amplifier into the molecular computation device. It allows discrimination of specific cancer cell types via intelligent sensing of miRNA patterns in living cells.
能够在细胞环境中实现布尔逻辑的分子电路已成为原位传感、阐明和调节细胞功能的重要工具。由于生物分子输入水平低和信号增益适中，现有分子计算设备在活细胞中的性能受到限制。在此，我们设计了一类新的 DNA 编程纳米粒子网络，该网络具有集成的分子计算和信号放大功能，可用于活细胞中双 microRNA（miRNA）分子的逻辑传感。该纳米粒子网络由 DNA 桥连的金纳米粒子和量子点（QD）组成，可同时与两个 miRNA 分子相互作用，放大分子输入，通过与门逻辑门进行计算，并产生 QD 光致发光（PL）作为输出信号。通过将信号放大器集成到分子计算设备中，实现了成像灵敏度的显著提高。它可以通过智能感应活细胞中的 miRNA 模式来区分特定的癌细胞类型。
