Quantitative Detection of Single Molecules Using Enhancement of Dye/DNA Conjugate-Labeled Nanoparticles

How Nanoparticles Transform Single Molecule Measurements into Quantitative Sensors

Single molecule measurements are revolutionizing the understanding of the stochastics of behavior of single molecules. There is a common theme referred to as a near-field approach, in how many single molecule measurements are being performed in assays. The term near field is used because the measurement volume is typically very small such that a single molecule, or a single molecule binding pair, within that volume is of an appreciable concentration. The next development in detection will be performing many single molecule measurements at one time such that single molecule measurements can be used as the basis for quantitative analysis. There have already been some notable developments in this direction. Again, all have a common theme in that nanoparticles are used to create many near-field volumes that can be measured simultaneously. Herein, the coupled developments in nanoparticles and measurement strategies that allow nanoparticles to be the backbone of the next generation of sensing technologies are discussed.

Digital immunoassay of a prostate-specific antigen using gold nanorods and magnetic nanoparticles

We have demonstrated a highly sensitive digital immunoassay for PSA detection.

Counting quantum dot aggregates for the detection of biotinylated proteins

The method of quantifying the degree of aggregation of QDs in solution is realized by spectral imaging of the aggregate.

Quantitative detection of tumor necrosis factor-α by single molecule counting based on a hybridization chain reaction

This work reports a novel and sensitive quantitative method for detection of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) based on single molecule counting and hybridization chain reaction (HCR). In the presence of TNF-α, sandwich-type immunocomplex was formed on the surface of glass substrate. The streptavidin acted as a bridge bounded to the biotinylated immunocomplex, which provided three sites to fixate the biotinylated initiator strands. The initiator strands triggered the chain reaction of hybridization to form a long double-helix polymer and SYBR Green I, acted as the fluorescence label, intercalated into the grooves of the long dsDNA polymer. Then, the quantitative detection of TNF-α was realized by single molecule counting. Under the optimal conditions, HCR-based single molecule counting quantitative method could successfully detect TNF-α in the range of 50 fM to 1 pM, and it revealed a reliable result for TNF-α detection in real serum. Moreover, the proposed immunosensor exhibited excellent specificity. These results greatly demonstrated that the proposed method possessed the potentiality in clinical application and it was suitable for quantification of biomarker under low concentration.

A novel label-free cascade amplification strategy based on dumbbell probe-mediated rolling circle amplification-responsive G-quadruplex formation for highly sensitive and selective detection of NAD+ or ATP

A novel label-free fluorescent sensing scheme for sensitive and selective detection of NAD(+) and ATP has been developed based on dumbbell probe-mediated rolling circle amplification (D-RCA)-responsive G-quadruplex formation. This approach can detect 0.5 pM for ATP and 100 fM for NAD(+), much lower than those of previously reported biosensors, and exhibits high discrimination ability.

Sensitive detection of proteins using assembled cascade fluorescent DNA nanotags based on rolling circle amplification

A novel cascade fluorescence signal amplification strategy based on the rolling circle amplification (RCA)-aided assembly of fluorescent DNA nanotags as fluorescent labels and multiplex binding of the biotin-streptavidin system was proposed for detection of protein target at ultralow concentration. In the strategy, fluorescent DNA nanotags are prepared relying on intercalating dye arrays assembled on nanostructured DNA templates by intercalation between base pairs. The RCA product containing tandem-repeat sequences could serve as an excellent template for periodic assembly of fluorescent DNA nanotags, which were presented per protein recognition event to numerous fluorescent DNA nanotags for assay readout. Both the RCA and the multiplex binding system showed remarkable amplification efficiency, very little nonspecific adsorption, and low background signal. Using human IgG as a model protein, the designed strategy was successfully demonstrated for the ultrasensitive detection of protein target. The results revealed that the strategy exhibited a dynamic response to human IgG over a three-decade concentration range from 1.0 pM to 1.0 fM with a limit of detection as low as 0.9 fM. By comparison with the assay of multiple labeling antibodies with the dye/DNA conjugate, the limit of detection was improved by 4 orders. The designed signal amplification strategy would hold great promise as a powerful tool to be applied for the ultrasensitive detection of target protein in immunoassay.