RNA-regulated molecular tweezers for sensitive fluorescent detection of microRNA from cancer cells

We describe here the construction of the DNA self-assembled molecular tweezers and the application of the tweezers for the monitoring of microRNA (miR-141) from human prostate cancer cells. The self-assembly formation of the DNA tweezers and the regulation of the tweezers upon alternative addition of the fuel miR-141 and the anti-fuel strands are characterized by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The addition of miR-141 to the DNA tweezers turns "off" the tweezers, while subsequent introduction of the anti-fuel strands switches the tweezers back to the "on" state, which verifies the regulatory ability of the tweezers. The miR-141-regulated DNA tweezers are concentration dependent and can be employed for sensitive detection of miR-141 down to 0.6 pM. The DNA tweezers also show high selectivity toward the fuel strand and can be used to monitor miR-141 expression in cancer cells, which provides new opportunities for the application of the dynamic DNA devices in clinical diagnostics.