Dendritic porous silica nanoparticles with high-curvature structures for a dual-mode DNA sensor based on fluorometer and person glucose meter.

A dual-mode DNA sensor was constructed to detect nucleic acid sensitively and selectively. Based on dendritic porous silica nanoparticles (DPSNs) and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) amplification strategy, the fabricated DNA sensor showed good sensitivity with low detection limits down to 2.18 pM and 4.02 pM by fluorescence (excited at 488 nm and emitted at 508 nm) and personal glucose meter (PGM) assays, respectively. This dual-mode detection of DNA offered superior reliability and accuracy and could meet the requirements of different testing environments, including laboratory confirmation and portable detection. Moreover, the impact of nanoparticles morphology on detection performance was also discussed. Due to the center-radial pores, DPSNs had high curvature morphology, which improved the coverage capacity, footprint, and deflection angle of probes. This work fabricated a dual-mode DNA sensor and revealed the relationship between morphology and detection performance, which brought new insights in novel biosensor development.