Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026
07:10
Split Hybridization Probe Utilizing a DNA Fluorescent Light-up Aptamer as a Signal Reporter for Sequence-Specific Nucleic Acid Analysis
Published on: July 8, 2025
Caged molecular beacons: controlling nucleic acid hybridization with light
Chunming Wang1, Zhi Zhu, Yanling Song
1State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)
|April 19, 2011
Summary
Researchers developed light-activatable caged molecular beacons (cMBs). These cMBs allow light-controlled nucleic acid hybridization for precise intracellular mRNA studies.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Molecular beacons are crucial for detecting nucleic acids.
- Controlling molecular beacon activity with external stimuli remains a challenge.
- Spatiotemporal control over biological processes is highly desirable.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel class of light-activatable caged molecular beacons (cMBs).
- To enable precise spatiotemporal control over nucleic acid hybridization using light.
- To facilitate advanced studies of intracellular messenger RNAs (mRNAs).
Main Methods:
- Construction of cMBs by locking two stems with photo-labile interactions.
- Utilizing light to trigger the uncaging and activation of cMBs.
- Demonstrating light-controlled nucleic acid hybridization.
Main Results:
- Successfully synthesized and characterized novel light-activatable cMBs.
- Demonstrated that cMBs can be activated with light to initiate hybridization.
- Showcased the potential for high spatiotemporal resolution in biological studies.
Conclusions:
- Light-activatable cMBs provide a new tool for controlling nucleic acid interactions.
- This technology enables precise, light-induced studies of intracellular mRNA dynamics.
- Opens avenues for advanced molecular diagnostics and research.
Related Concept Videos
03:31Labeling DNA Probes
DNA probes are fragments of DNA labeled with a reporter tag to enable their detection or purification. The resulting labeled DNA probes can then hybridize to target nucleic acid sequences through complementary base-pairing, and may be used to recover or identify these regions.
Radioisotopes, fluorophores, or small molecule binding partners like biotin or digoxigenin, are the most widely used reporter tags for labeling DNA probes. These labels can be attached to the probe DNA molecule via...
Radioisotopes, fluorophores, or small molecule binding partners like biotin or digoxigenin, are the most widely used reporter tags for labeling DNA probes. These labels can be attached to the probe DNA molecule via...
02:07FISH - Fluorescent In-situ Hybridization
Fluorescence in situ hybridization, or FISH, was developed in the early 1980s and has quickly become one of the most widely used techniques in cytogenetics. Labeled probes are used to bind complementary DNA or RNA sequences on a chromosome or in a region within a cell. Earlier, the probes could only be obtained by cloning or reverse transcription of a DNA template. Currently, the probe oligonucleotides can be synthesized synthetically. Additionally, with the advancement of optical techniques,...