An enzyme substrate binding aptamer complex based time-resolved fluorescence sensor for the adenosine deaminase detection

Time-resolved Fluorescence DNA-based Sensors for Reducing Background Fluorescence of Environment

The fluorescence assay is one of the popular methods that is applied for detection of different targets. However, this method may show low sensitivity and high background in biological samples due to the natural fluorescence of different compounds in complicated samples. In addition, it inevitably affects the detection results accuracy. A fundamental solution to this problem is the use of the time-resolved fluorescence technique (TRF). The main component of this technique is the use of long fluorescence lifetime reagents. In this review, various time-resolved fluorescent reagents such as complexes of lanthanide ions, lanthanide-doped inorganic nanoparticles; Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) and pyrene excimer are introduced. Moreover, TRF sensors, especially TRF aptasensors (DNA-based sensors) are discussed. This review will give new ideas for researchers to develop novel high-sensitive TRF sensors that can remove or decrease background fluorescence and use them for the detection of various targets in complicated samples without treatment.

Split aptamer based sensing platform for adenosine deaminase detection by fluorescence resonance energy transfer

In this paper, a split aptamer based fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) platform was constructed for the determination of adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity by using gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). A single adenosine triphosphate (ATP) aptamer was split into two fragments (referred to as P1 and P2). P1 was covalently attached to the AuNCs at the 5' end (P1-AuNCs), and P2 was labeled with AuNPs at the 3' end (P2-AuNPs). In the presence of ATP, ATP bound with the two fragments with high affinity to link P1-AuNCs and P2-AuNPs together, thus the fluorescence of P1-AuNCs was quenched via FRET from P1-AuNCs to P2-AuNPs. With the addition of ADA, ATP was transformed into inosine triphosphate (ITP), and then P1 and P2 were released to cause the fluorescence recovery of the system. So a split aptamer based FRET platform for ADA detection can be established via the fluorescence intensity change of the system. This platform showed a good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity and ADA concentration in the range of 2-120 U L^-1, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.72 U L^-1. Moreover, the detection of ATP in human serum sample demonstrated the accuracy and applicability of the method for ADA detection in real sample.

A label-free kissing complexes-induced fluorescence aptasensor using DNA-templated silver nanoclusters as a signal transducer

Riboswitches are complex folded RNA domains that serve as receptors for specific metabolites which identified in prokaryotes. They are comprised of a biosensor that includes the binding site for a small ligand and they respond to association with this ligand by undergoing a conformational change. In the present study, we report on the integration of silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) and riboswitches for the development of a kissing complexes-induced aptasensor (KCIA). We specifically apply the tunable riboswitches properties of this strategy to demonstrate the multiplexes analysis of adenosine and adenosine deaminase (ADA). This strategy allows for simple tethering of the specific oligonucleotides stabilizing the AgNCs to the nucleic acid probes. This is a new concept for aptasensors, and opens an opportunity for design of more novel biosensors based on the kissing complexes-induced strategy.

A label-free electrochemical aptasensor for the analysis of the potassium ion

Herein, a simple and novel electrochemical method for the detection of potassium ions (K(+)) was developed. In the presence of potassium ions, the potassium ions aptamer will form a G-quadruplex complex. Thus, further addition of hemin in the presence of potassium ions will lead to the formation of a recombined G-quadruplex. Then the electroactive label, hemin, will give an electrochemical response. The linear range of the method covered a large variation of K(+) concentration from 0.1 nM to 0.1 μ M and the detection limit of 0.1 nM was obtained. Moreover, this assay was able to detect K(+) with high selectivity and had great potential applications.

A multicolor time-resolved fluorescence aptasensor for the simultaneous detection of multiplex Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins in the milk

Food safety is one of the most important public health issues worldwide. Foodborne illnesses caused by Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins (SEs) commonly occur, affecting both developing and developed countries. In this study, multicolor lanthanide-doped time-resolved fluorescence nanoparticles labeled with aptamers were used as bioprobes, and graphene oxide (GO) was employed as a resonance energy acceptor. Based on the "turn down" strategy, the simultaneous detection of multiplex SEs was realized in a homogeneous solution. Under the optimal conditions, the developed method exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity to three serological types of enterotoxins, including type A, B, C1, with limits of detection below 1 ng mL(-1). The application of this bioassay in milk analysis with no sample dilution was also investigated, and the results of recovery rates covered from 92.76% to 114.58%, revealing that the developed method was accurate. Therefore, this detection aptasnesor can be a good candidate for multiplex analysis and screening with simple and effective operations.

A new method to fabricate an electrochemical aptasensor to assay adenosine deaminase concentration using an assistance DNA

A novel strategy for the fabrication of electrochemical aptasensor is proposed in this work. This strategy has been employed to develop an aptasensor for the detection of adenosine deaminase concentration. A probe which contains adenosine aptamer and modified with ferrocene is adopted in our strategy as the core element. Moreover, an assistance DNA which can hybridize with the probe was also been employed in our strategy. The enzymatic reaction of adenosine catalyzed by adenosine deaminase plays a key role as well in the regulation of the hybridized complex. The formation of these regions of rigid, duplex DNA prevents the ferrocene tag from approaching the electrode surface, suppressing amperometric currents. The electroactive probe is to reflect the concentration of the enzyme indirectly but accurately. The detection limit is 1 U L(-1), which can be acceptable for clinical applications.

A gold nanoparticle-based label free colorimetric aptasensor for adenosine deaminase detection and inhibition assay

A novel strategy for the fabrication of a colorimetric aptasensor using label free gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is proposed in this work, and the strategy has been employed for the assay of adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity. The aptasensor consists of adenosine (AD) aptamer, AD and AuNPs. The design of the biosensor takes advantage of the special optical properties of AuNPs and the interaction between AuNPs and single-strand DNA. In the absence of ADA, the AuNPs are aggregated and are blue in color under appropriate salt concentration because of the grid structure of an AD aptamer when binding to AD, while in the presence of the analyte, AuNPs remain dispersed with red color under the same concentration of salt owing to ADA converting AD into inosine which has no affinity with the AD aptamer, thus allowing quantitative investigation of ADA activity. The present strategy is simple, cost-effective, selective and sensitive for ADA with a detection limit of 1.526 U L(-1), which is about one order of magnitude lower than that previously reported. In addition, a very low concentration of the inhibitor erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl) adenine (EHNA) could generate a distinguishable response. Therefore, the AuNP-based colorimetric biosensor has great potential in the diagnosis of ADA-relevant diseases and drug screening.

Adenosine deaminase biosensor combining cationic conjugated polymer-based FRET with deoxyguanosine-based photoinduced electron transfer

We demonstrated a sensitive and selective adenosine deaminase (ADA) detection by modulating the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between cationic conjugated poly(9,9-bis(6'-N,N,N-trimethylammonium) hexyl)fluorine phenylene) (PFP) and the deoxyguanosine-tailored hairpin aptamer. The hairpin aptamer was labeled with a fluorophore FAM at one end and three deoxyguanosines (Gs) at the other end as a quencher. In the absence of ADA, aptamer forms hairpin-like conformation with adenosines making close affinity of Gs and FAM, which results in the weak FRET from PFP to FAM because of FAM fluorescence being quenched by Gs via photoinduced electron transfer (PET). After addition of ADA, adenosine was hydrolyzed by ADA, followed by the release of free aptamer. In this case, FAM being far away from Gs, the strong FRET thus was obtained due to the quenching process being blocked. Therefore, the new strategy based on the FRET ratio enhancement is reasonably used to detect the ADA sensitively, combining the fluorescence signal amplification of conjugated polymers with the initiative signal decreasing by Gs. The detection limit of the ADA assay is 0.3 U/L in both buffer solution and human serum, which is more sensitive than most of those previously documented methods. Importantly, the assay is rapid, homogeneous, and simple without a complicated treating process. The ADA inhibitor, erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl) adenine hydrochloride (EHNA), was also studied based on this assay, and the detection limit of EHNA is 10 pM. This strategy provides a new platform for the detection of other biomolecules and enzymes.

Water-soluble conjugated polymer as a platform for adenosine deaminase sensing based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer technique

We report a new biosensor for adenosine deaminase (ADA) sensing based on water-soluble conjugated poly(9,9-bis(6'-N,N,N-trimethylammonium)hexyl)fluorine phenylene (PFP) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer technique. In this biosensor, PFP, DNAc-FI labeled with fluorescein (FAM), and ethidium bromide (EB) were used as the fluorescence energy donor, resonance gate, and the final fluorescence energy acceptor, respectively. In the absence of ADA, the adenosine aptamer forms a hairpin-like conformation with adenosine, which is far from its complementary single-stranded DNA (DNAc-FI). When PFP is excited at 380 nm, fluorescein emits strong green fluorescence via one-step FRET while EB has no fluorescence. After addition of ADA, adenosine is hydrolyzed to inosine and then double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) is formed between the aptamer and DNAc-FI, followed by EB intercalating into dsDNA. Once PFP is excited, EB will emit strong yellow fluorescence after two-step FRET from PFP to fluorescein and from fluorescein to EB. The sensitive ADA detection then is realized with a low detection limit of 0.5 U/L by measuring the FRET ratio of EB to fluorescein. Most importantly, the assay is accomplished homogeneously in 25 min without further treatments, which is much more simple and rapid than that reported in literature. Hence, this method demonstrates the sensitive, cost-effective, and rapid detection of ADA activity. It also opens an opportunity for designing promising sensors for other enzymes.

Fluorescence sensing of adenosine deaminase based on adenosine induced self-assembly of aptamer structures

A new approach is proposed for simple detection of adenosine deaminase (ADA) based on adenosine induced self-assembly of two pieces of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). These ssDNA are two fragments of the aptamer that has a strong affinity for adenosine and are labeled with carboxyfluorescein and black hole quencher-1, respectively. The complementarities of the bases in the two pieces of ssDNA are insufficient to form a stable structure. In the presence of adenosine, however, the ssDNA can be assembled into the intact aptamer tertiary structure, which results in fluorescence quenching of the carboxyfluorescein-labeled aptamer fragment. As a result, the adenosine-ssDNA complex shows a low background signal, which is rather desired for achieving sensitive detection. Reaction of the complex with ADA causes a great fluorescence enhancement by converting adenosine into inosine that has no affinity for the aptamer. This behaviour leads to the development of a simple and sensitive fluorescent method for assaying ADA activity, with a detection limit of 0.05 U mL(-1), which is more sensitive than most of the existing approaches. Furthermore, the applicability of the method has been demonstrated by detecting ADA in mouse serum samples.

DNA-templated silver nanoclusters based label-free fluorescent molecular beacon for the detection of adenosine deaminase

A general and reliable fluorescent molecular beacon is proposed in this work utilizing DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (AgNCs). The fluorescent molecular beacon has been employed for sensitive determination of the concentration of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and its inhibition. A well-designed oligonucleotide containing three functional regions (an aptamer region for adenosine assembly, a sequence complementary to the region of the adenosine aptamer, and an inserted six bases cytosine-loop) is adopted as the core element in the strategy. The enzymatic reaction of adenosine catalyzed by ADA plays a key role as well in the regulation of the synthesis of the DNA-templated AgNCs, i.e. the signal indicator. The intensity of the fluorescence signal may thereby determine the concentration of the enzyme and its inhibitor. The detection limit of the ADA can be lowered to 0.05 UL(-1). Also, 100 fM of a known inhibitor erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl) adenine hydrochloride (EHNA) is enough to present distinguishable fluorescence emission. Moreover, since the fluorescent signal indicator is not required to be bound with the oligonucleotide, this fluorescent molecular beacon may integrate the advantages of both the label-free and signal-on strategies.

Rational design of a thrombin electrochemical aptasensor by conjugating two DNA aptamers with G-quadruplex halves

A novel strategy for the fabrication of an electrochemical aptasensor is proposed; this strategy has been employed in this work to assay thrombin concentration. Two well-designed oligonucleotides were used as the core element. G-quadruplex-hemin complexes can be formed on the surface of the electrode to give a detectable signal only when thrombin is not bound to the aptamers. The detection limit of the biosensor has been lowered to 10nM. Moreover, since the electroactive probe is not required to be bound to the oligonucleotide, this strategy may integrate the advantages of being both label-free and cost-effective.

A new method for the detection of adenosine based on time-resolved fluorescence sensor

In this work, we report a thrombin binding aptamer complex based time-resolved fluorescence sensor for small molecule detection. The sensor employs two strands (DNA1 and DNA2) of oligonucleotides. This two strands of oligonucleotides contain two aptamer (α-aptamer and β-aptamer) respectively. DNA1 and DNA2 were labeled with biotin and DIG at the 3'-end, respectively. Binding of the α-aptamer and β-aptamer to the thrombin promotes the hybridization between the complementary stem sequences attached to the two oligonucleotide sequences. The hybridization then brings biotin to be hidden in the shield part on DNA1, shielding biotin from being approached by the streptavidin modified on the microplate due to the steric hindrance effect of the shield part of DNA1. Result in the thrombin-aptamer complex cannot be modified on the surface of microplate which further leads to no signal reported. The strategy integrates the distinguishing features of aptamer and fluorescent techniques. As a proof-of-principle, adenosine in serum was detected with a detection limit of 0.5 nM. A nice detection limit and linear relationship were obtained.