Mao Shiqi, Ying Yachen, Wu Ruonan, Chen Antony K
Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100871, China.
iScience. 2020 Nov 13;23(12):101801. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101801. eCollection 2020 Dec 18.
Nucleic acids, aside from being best known as the carrier of genetic information, are versatile biomaterials for constructing nanoscopic devices for biointerfacing, owing to their unique properties such as specific base pairing and predictable structure. For live-cell analysis of native RNA transcripts, the most widely used nucleic acid-based nanodevice has been the molecular beacon (MB), a class of stem-loop-forming probes that is activated to fluoresce upon hybridization with target RNA. Here, we overview efforts that have been made in developing MB-based bioassays for sensitive intracellular analysis, particularly at the single-molecule level. We also describe challenges that are currently limiting the widespread use of MBs and provide possible solutions. With continued refinement of MBs in terms of labeling specificity and detection accuracy, accompanied by new development in imaging platforms with unprecedented sensitivity, the application of MBs is envisioned to expand in various biological research fields.
核酸，除了作为遗传信息的载体最为人所知外，由于其独特的性质，如特定的碱基配对和可预测的结构，还是用于构建生物界面纳米器件的多功能生物材料。对于天然RNA转录本的活细胞分析，最广泛使用的基于核酸的纳米器件是分子信标（MB），这是一类形成茎环结构的探针，与靶RNA杂交时会被激活而发出荧光。在这里，我们概述了在开发基于MB的生物测定法以进行灵敏的细胞内分析，特别是在单分子水平上所做的努力。我们还描述了目前限制MB广泛使用的挑战，并提供了可能的解决方案。随着MB在标记特异性和检测准确性方面的不断完善，以及具有前所未有的灵敏度的成像平台的新发展，预计MB在各个生物学研究领域的应用将会扩大。
