Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026

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
Nucleic acid fluorescent probes for biological sensing.
Xin Su1, Xianjin Xiao, Chen Zhang
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, China.
Nucleic acid fluorescent probes are advancing biological sensing. This review details probes utilizing hybridization, aptamers for analyte detection, and enzyme substrates for signal amplification and enzyme detection.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Analytical Chemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Nucleic acids exhibit diverse functionalities beyond simple hybridization.
- Aptamers offer specific target binding for broad analyte detection.
- Nucleic acids serve as substrates for enzymes, enabling detection and signal amplification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review biosensing methods based on three types of nucleic acid fluorescent probes.
- To cover intensity-based assays, including signal amplification strategies.
- To introduce fluorescence lifetime, anisotropy, and correlation spectroscopy, and imaging approaches.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on nucleic acid fluorescent probes.
- Categorization of probes based on function: hybridization, aptamers, and enzyme substrates.
- Discussion of various detection techniques: intensity-based, fluorescence lifetime, anisotropy, correlation spectroscopy, and imaging.
Main Results:
- Nucleic acid fluorescent probes are versatile tools for detecting small molecules, proteins, ions, and cells.
- Enzyme-substrate properties of nucleic acids facilitate enzyme detection and signal amplification.
- Diverse fluorescence techniques enhance the capabilities of nucleic acid-based biosensors.
Conclusions:
- Nucleic acid fluorescent probes offer a powerful platform for diverse biosensing applications.
- The development of aptamers and enzyme-substrate probes expands detection capabilities.
- Advanced fluorescence techniques further enhance sensitivity and applicability in biological sensing.
Related Concept Videos
Labeling DNA Probes
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...
In-situ Hybridization
Types of probes and labels
A probe is a complementary strand of DNA or RNA that binds to corresponding nucleotide sequences in a cell. Many...
Reporter Genes
Commonly used reporter...
FISH - Fluorescent In-situ Hybridization
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...

