A Nonenzymatic Hairpin DNA Cascade Reaction Provides High Signal Gain of mRNA Imaging inside Live Cells.

ABSTRACT: Enzyme-free signal amplification has enabled sensitive in vitro detection of biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. However, monitoring targets of interest in live cells via enzyme-free amplification is still challenging, especially for analytes with low concentrations. To the best of our knowledge, this paper reports the first attempt to perform mRNA imaging inside live cells, using a nonenzymatic hairpin DNA cascade reaction for high signal gain, termed a hairpin DNA cascade amplifier (HDCA). In conventional nucleic acid probes, such as linear hybridization probes, mRNA target signaling occurs in an equivalent reaction ratio (1:1), whereas, in HDCA, one mRNA target is able to yield multiple signal outputs (1:m), thus achieving the goal of signal amplification for low-expression

SUBMITTER: Wu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4428327 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature