Nanoquencher-based biosensors have emerged as powerful tools for the detection of tumor markers, where challenges in efficiently docking the π-electron interaction interface toward nucleic acid probes containing π-electron-rich units of bases and fluorescent dyes still remain. Herein, we present hybrid polydopamine/polypyrrole nanosheets (PDA-PPy-NS) with π electron coupling and ultranarrow band gap (0.29 eV) by interfacial engineering of polymer hybrids at the nanoscale. PDA-PPy-NS were first prepared through oxidant-induced polymerization of pyrrole on PDA nanosheets. By utilizing fluorescent-dye-labeled single-stranded DNA as a probe, the hybrid nanoquencher showed ultrahigh fluorescence quenching ability, i.e., a Cy5-ssDNA/nanoquencher mass ratio of 36.9 under the complete quenching condition, which is comparable to that of graphene oxide. It was demonstrated that the energy level coupling of nanosheets and nucleic acid dye (Cy5) was the key factor contributing to the efficient photoinduced electron transfer (PET). Subsequently, the nanoquencher/DNA probe was proved to possess superior sensitivity and selectivity for efficient and reliable detection of miRNA-21 with a detection limit of 23.1 pM. Our work proves that the π-electron-rich biosensor interface can significantly enhance the PET efficiency, providing a theoretical basis for developing novel high-performance sensors.
Keywords: energy level coupling; fluorescent nanoquencher; interfacial electron transfer; nucleic acid sensing; π-conjugated structure.