Fast and Sensitive Detection of Nucleic Acid

A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensors and Healthcare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 10239

Special Issue Editor

College of Life Science and Technology; Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100013, China
Interests: DNA nanotechnology, single-molecule analysis, fluorescence sensing and imaging, biomarker detection, drug delivery and therapeutics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has highlighted the significance of nucleic acid detection techniques. Testing available ad libitum and early diagnosis are essential to identify the disease and provide prompt treatments, and therefore, a sufficiently large supply of nucleic acid test capacity is critical to screen suspected cases in a timely manner. Moreover, nucleic acids also emerge as promising biomarkers for cancer diagnostics. Owing to the clinical significance of DNA/RNA biomarkers, this Special Issue mainly focuses on updated knowledge about the effectiveness of the new technique in fast and sensitive nucleic acid detection. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique is widely used in clinical laboratories worldwide for nucleic acid detection. Although this technique provides high sensitivity for DNA/RNA, it suffers from slow speed and poor specificity. A variety of new techniques, such as fluorescence biosensors, electrochemical biosensors, single-molecule toolkits, and isothermal amplification techniques, have shown great potential in fast and sensitive detection of nucleic acids. Furthermore, methods for improving the procedure of the clinical diagnostics of nucleic acids are also important. Both original papers and comprehensive reviews that focus on this topic are welcome to publish in open access form. This Special Issue can be a platform to share your own experiences and challenges in developing methods or improving conventional techniques for reliable detection of a variety of nucleic acid biomarkers, such as circulating cancer biomarkers, single-nucleotide variation, as well as pathogen DNA and RNA.

Dr. Xin Su
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • in vitro detection
  • amplification techniques
  • fluorescence sensors
  • electrochemical sensors
  • circulating nucleic acid
  • biomarkers
  • nanopore
  • single-molecule analysis
  • pathogen detection
  • DNA nanotechnology
  • DNA/RNA extraction and purification

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 1776 KiB  
Communication
Nucleic Acids Detection for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Based on Gold Nanoparticles Counting and Rolling-Circle Amplification
by Xiaojing Pei, Hu Hong, Sitong Liu and Na Li
Biosensors 2022, 12(7), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios12070448 - 23 Jun 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2568
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is a common infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which usually disturbs the lungs, and remains the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide after the human immunodeficiency virus. Herein, we constructed a simple and sensitive method [...] Read more.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a common infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which usually disturbs the lungs, and remains the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide after the human immunodeficiency virus. Herein, we constructed a simple and sensitive method for Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific DNA detection with the dark-field microscopic imaging of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) counting strategy and rolling-circle amplification (RCA). Taking advantage of RCA amplification, one target molecule produced hundreds of general oligonucleotides, which could form the sandwich structure with capture-strand-modified magnetic beads and AuNPs. After magnetic separation, AuNPs were released and detected by dark-field imaging; about 10 fM Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific DNA target can still be differentiated from the blank. No significant change of the absorbance signals was observed when the target DNA to genomic DNA ratio (in mass) was from 1:0 to 1:106. The spike recovery results in genomic DNA from human and Klebsiella pneumoniae suggested that the proposed method has the feasibility for application with biological samples. This proposed method is performed on an entry-level dark-field microscope setup with only a 6 μL detection volume, which creates a new, simple, sensitive, and valuable tool for pathogen detection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fast and Sensitive Detection of Nucleic Acid)
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10 pages, 1455 KiB  
Article
A Simple and Universal Nucleic Acid Assay Platform Based on Personal Glucose Meter Using SARS-CoV-2 N Gene as the Model
by Tian Li, Rui Pan, Yuhan Wen, Jiaqi Xu, Liping Zhang, Suna He and Gaofeng Liang
Biosensors 2022, 12(4), 249; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios12040249 - 15 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2413
Abstract
A simple, selective, and quantitative platform for point-of-care diagnostic of COVID-19 is urgently needed as a complement in areas where resources are currently relatively scarce. To meet the needs of early diagnosis and intervention, a proof-of-concept demonstration of a universal personal glucose meter-based [...] Read more.
A simple, selective, and quantitative platform for point-of-care diagnostic of COVID-19 is urgently needed as a complement in areas where resources are currently relatively scarce. To meet the needs of early diagnosis and intervention, a proof-of-concept demonstration of a universal personal glucose meter-based nucleic acid assay platform (PGM-NAAP) is presented, which converts to SARS-CoV-2 detection from glucose detection. By using magnetic bead separation together with the hand-held PGM for quantitative readout, PGM-NAAP achieves the 98 pM limit of detection for a sequence related to SARS-CoV-2. The ability to discriminate target nucleic acid from genomic DNA, the satisfactory spike recoveries of saliva and serum samples, as well as the good stability all together suggest the potential of the PGM-NAAP for the screening and diagnosis of suspected patients during the outbreaks of COVID-19 in resource-limited settings without sophisticated instruments. On the basis of these findings, PGM-NAAP can be expected to provide an accurate and convenient path for diagnosis of disease-associated nucleic acid. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fast and Sensitive Detection of Nucleic Acid)
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Review

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18 pages, 2192 KiB  
Review
Fluorescence Signal-Readout of CRISPR/Cas Biosensors for Nucleic Acid Detection
by Zhaohe Huang, Sitong Liu, Xiaojing Pei, Shujing Li, Yifan He, Yigang Tong and Guoqi Liu
Biosensors 2022, 12(10), 779; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios12100779 - 20 Sep 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4720
Abstract
The CRISPR/Cas system is now being used extensively in nucleic acid detection applications, particularly after the trans-cleavage activity of several Cas effectors was found. A CRISPR/Cas system combined with multiple signal-readout techniques has been developed for various molecular diagnostics applications. Fluorescence is now [...] Read more.
The CRISPR/Cas system is now being used extensively in nucleic acid detection applications, particularly after the trans-cleavage activity of several Cas effectors was found. A CRISPR/Cas system combined with multiple signal-readout techniques has been developed for various molecular diagnostics applications. Fluorescence is now a widely utilized dominant read-out technique in CRISPR biosensors. An in-depth understanding of various fluorescence readout types and variables affecting the fluorescence signals can facilitate better experimental designs to effectively improve the analytical performance. There are the following two commonly used types of CRISPR/Cas detection modes: the first is based on binding activity, such as Cas9 and dCas9; the second is based on cleavage activity, such as Cas12a, Cas12b, Cas13, and Cas14. In this review, fluorescence signal-readout strategies from the last 5 years based on the binding activity and cleavage activity of the CRISPR/Cas system with fundamentals and examples are fully discussed. A detailed comparison of the available fluorescent reporter sequences and design principles is summarized. Current challenges and further applications of CRISPR-based detection methods will be discussed according to the most recent developments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fast and Sensitive Detection of Nucleic Acid)
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