Ultrasound-enhanced catalytic hairpin assembly capable of ultrasensitive microRNA biosensing for the early screening of Alzheimer's disease

Yong Luo; Jingyu Chen; Jiahui Liang; Yizhen Liu; Conghui Liu; Yibiao Liu; Tailin Xu; Xueji Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.bios.2023.115746

Ultrasound-enhanced catalytic hairpin assembly capable of ultrasensitive microRNA biosensing for the early screening of Alzheimer's disease

Biosens Bioelectron. 2023 Dec 15:242:115746. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115746. Epub 2023 Oct 11.

Authors

Yong Luo¹, Jingyu Chen², Jiahui Liang², Yizhen Liu², Conghui Liu³, Yibiao Liu⁴, Tailin Xu⁵, Xueji Zhang⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, PR China; Guangdong Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy (SZ), Shenzhen, 518060, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, PR China.
² College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, PR China.
³ College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, PR China; Guangdong Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy (SZ), Shenzhen, 518060, China. Electronic address: conghuiliu@szu.edu.cn.
⁴ Longgang District Central Hospital of Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518116, PR China. Electronic address: liuyibiao12345@126.com.
⁵ College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, PR China; Guangdong Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy (SZ), Shenzhen, 518060, China. Electronic address: xutailin@szu.edu.cn.
⁶ College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, PR China; Guangdong Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy (SZ), Shenzhen, 518060, China. Electronic address: zhangxueji@szu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37832346
DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115746

Abstract

Catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) is a promising enzyme-free, isothermal signal amplification strategy, but the relatively time-consuming strand replacement limits its application scenarios. Here, we developed an ultrasound-enhanced catalytic hairpin assembly (UECHA) biosensing platform for early screening of Alzheimer's disease by introducing a portable acoustic-drive platform with functionalized microspheres for effective biomarkers enrichment and fluorescence enhancement. By constructing a gradient ultrasonic field in a microcavity, the platform concentrates the functionalized microspheres in a central position, accompanied by an enhanced fluorescence signal with a specific release. In addition, the programmable frequency modulation can also modify the acoustic potential well and effectively promote non-equilibrium chemical reactions such as CHA (25 min). Compared with the conventional catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA), UECHA allows for direct and quantitative measurement of AD miRNAs down to 3.55 × 10^-15 M in 1 μL samples. This visual analysis of ultra-trace biomarkers based on acoustic enrichment and promotion provides a new perspective for the rapid and highly sensitive clinical detection of Alzheimer's disease.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Biosensing; Enrichment; Fluorescence; Portable.

MeSH terms

Alzheimer Disease* / diagnosis
Biomarkers
Biosensing Techniques*
Catalysis
Humans
Limit of Detection
MicroRNAs* / analysis

Substances

MicroRNAs
Biomarkers