An enzymatic cleavage-triggered minimally invasive nanosensor for urine-based detection of early atherosclerosis.

ABSTRACT: Timely detection of early atherosclerosis (AS) is crucial for improving cardiovascular outcomes, creating a growing demand for diagnostic tools that are simple, sensitive, and cost-effective. Here, we introduce a synthetic nanosensor for early AS detection that leverages the fluorescence and renal clearance properties of carbon quantum dots (CQDs). This nanosensor, designed to respond to the proteolytic activity of AS-associated dysregulated enzymes, entails CQDs as signal reporters to convert AS-associated proteolytic activity to fluorometric readings enabling a sensitive and cost-effective urine-based assay for early AS detection. Our findings demonstrated that the nanosensor provided distinct signals in atherosclerotic versus healthy mice at early AS stages, indicating its diagnostic po

SUBMITTER: Wu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11908493 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature