Quantum dots and graphene oxide fluorescent switch based multivariate testing strategy for reliable detection of...

Graphene oxide (GO) and quantum dots (QDs), as burgeoning types of nanomaterials, have gained tremendous interest in the biosensor field. In this work, we designed a novel multivariate testing strategy that depends on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) effect between quantum dots (QDs) and graphene oxide (GO). It integrates the QD-GO FRET principle and QD probes with different emission peaks into a platform, aims at multiplex gene detection of a human infectious and highly pathogenic pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes). With the development of a multiplex linear-after-the-exponential (LATE) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system, the single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) products of hlyA genes and iap genes are obtained by simultaneous amplification of the target genes. Then with the hybridization of ssDNA products and QD probes, simultaneous homogeneous detection of two gene amplification products can be achieved by using GO as a fluorescence switch and monitoring the relevant emissions excited by a single light source. Distinguishable signals corresponding to target genes are obtained. With this developed approach, genomic DNA from L. monocytogenes can be detected as low as 100 fg/μL. Moreover, this platform has a good dynamic range from 10(2) to 10(6) fg/μL. It is indicated that this platform has potential to be a reliable complement for rapid gene detection technologies and is capable of reducing the false-negative and false-dismissal probabilities in routine tests.