Deoxynivalenol (DON)-Triggered Dual-Color Composite Probe Based on Gold Nanoclusters for Simultaneous Imaging of DON and miR-34a in Living Cells

Anal Chem. 2023 Dec 19;95(50):18611-18618. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c04630. Epub 2023 Dec 6.

Abstract

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin secreted by Fusarium species, posing great harm to food safety and human health. Therefore, it is of great significance to study its toxic effects and mechanism. miR-34a is a representative biomarker during the process of DON-induced apoptosis. Herein, a DON-triggered dual-color composite probe was constructed for simultaneous imaging of DON and miR-34a in living cells. The aptamer blocks the recognition sequence of miR-34a to realize DON-triggered cell imaging. The specific binding of DON with its aptamer and HCR induced by miR-34a resulted in the recovery of fluorescence of the dual-color Au NCs. Under the optimal conditions, the correlation between the relative fluorescence intensities of dual-color Au NCs showed good linear relationships with the logarithm of DON and miR-34a concentration, respectively. With the increase in DON concentration (0-20 μg/mL) and stimulation time (0-12 h), the fluorescence of dual-color Au NCs gradually recovered. This dual-color Au NCs composite probe can realize simultaneous detection of DON and miR-34a induced by DON, which is significant for verifying the cytotoxic mechanism of DON.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Gold
  • Humans
  • MicroRNAs* / genetics
  • MicroRNAs* / metabolism
  • Mycotoxins* / toxicity
  • Trichothecenes* / toxicity

Substances

  • deoxynivalenol
  • Gold
  • Trichothecenes
  • Mycotoxins
  • MicroRNAs