Nanoporous gold channel with attached DNA nanolock for drug screening

Electrochemical Detection of Viral Nucleic Acids by DNA Nanolock-Based Porous Electrode Device

Developing rapid, sensitive, and facile nucleic acid detection technologies is of paramount importance for preventing and controlling infectious diseases. Benefiting from the advantages such as rapid response, low cost, and simple operation, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy holds great promise for point-of-care nucleic acid detection. However, the sensitivity of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for low molecular weight nucleic acids testing is still limited. This work presents a DNA nanolock-based porous electrode to improve the sensitivity of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Once the target nucleic acids are recognized by the DNA probes, the pore-attached DNA nanolock caused remarkable impedance amplification by blocking the nanopores. Taking SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid as a model analyte, the detection limit of the porous electrode was as low as 0.03 fM for both SARS-CoV-2 RNA and DNA. The integration of a porous electrode with a wireless communicating unit generates a portable detection device that could be applied to direct SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing in saliva samples. The portable device could effectively distinguish the COVID-19 positive and negative samples, showing a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 93%. Owing to its rapid, ultrasensitive, specific, and portable features, the as-designed DNA nanolock and porous electrode-based portable device holds great promise as a point-of-care platform for real-time screening of COVID-19 and other epidemics.

Bacteria detection based on its blockage effect on silicon nanopore array

Bacteria detection plays an important role in the guarantee of food and water safety. This work proposed a new sensing strategy for the rapid detection of bacteria based on its blockage effect on nanopore array, which was prepared from electrochemically etched silicon. With the assistance of microfluidic technology, the nanopore array attached with Escherichia coli antibody can selectively and rapidly capture E. coli bacteria, resulting in the decrease of pore accessibility. The signal of pore blockage can be measured by in-direct Fourier Transformed Reflectometric Interference Spectroscopy (FT-RIS). The pore blockage signal has a linear relationship with the logarithm of bacterial density in aqueous sample within the range from 10(3) to 10(7)cfuml(-1). Due to the specific interaction between the antibody and target bacteria, only the E. coli sample displayed significant pore blockage effect, whereas the non-target bacteria, Nox and P17, almost did not show any pore blockage effect. The strategy established in this work might be pervasively applied in the rapid detection of target bacteria and cell in a label-free manner.

Unusual dealloying effect in gold/copper alloy thin films: the role of defects and column boundaries in the formation of nanoporous gold

Understanding the dealloying mechanisms of gold-based alloy thin films resulting in the formation of nanoporous gold with a sponge-like structure is essential for the future design and integration of this novel class of material in practical devices. Here we report on the synthesis of nanoporous gold thin films using a free-corrosion approach in nitric acid applied to cosputtered Au-Cu thin films. A relationship is established between the as-grown Au-Cu film characteristics (i.e., composition, morphology, and structure) and the porosity of the sponge-like gold thin films. We further demonstrate that the dealloying approach can be applied to nonhomogenous Au-Cu alloy thin films consisting of periodic and alternate Au-rich/Au-poor nanolayers. In such a case, however, the dealloying process is found to be altered and unusual etching stages arise. Thanks to defects and column boundaries playing the role of channels, the nitric acid is found to quickly penetrate within the films and then laterally (i.e., parallel to the film surface) attacks the nanolayers rather than perpendicularly. As a consequence to this anisotropic etching, the Au-poor layers are etched preferentially and transform into Au pillars holding the Au-rich layers and preventing them against collapsing. A further exposure to nitric acid results in the collapsing of the Au-rich layers accompanied by a transition from a multilayered to a sponge-like structure. A scenario, supported by experimental observations, is further proposed to provide a detailed explanation of the fundamental mechanisms occurring during the dealloying process of films with a multilayered structure.