Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Walk with Me Hybrid Virtual/In-Person Walking for Older Adults with Neurodegenerative Disease
Published on: June 16, 2023
A three-dimensional DNA walking machine for the ultrasensitive dual-modal detection of miRNA using a fluorometer and
Tingting Wu1, Yu Cao1, Yuemeng Yang1
1Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China. xuliping@ustb.edu.cn zhangxueji@ustb.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Three-dimensional (3D) DNA walking machines inspired by natural molecular machines have attracted significant attention due to their high walking efficiency and signal amplification capability. Herein, we report a 3D DNA walking machine for the dual-modal detection of miRNA using a fluorometer and personal glucose meter (PGM). The 3D DNA walking machine on magnetic beads (MBs) was coated with the BHQ-H1-FAM hairpin structures (DNA tracks), activated by target miRNA-21 (walking strand) and propelled by a strand displacement reaction. During these processes, the fluorescence of FAM on H1 was turned on (first signal), and the invertase on H2 was introduced into the surface of the MBs. After being separated by an external magnetic field, the invertase hydrolyzed sucrose into glucose to generate a second signal, which was quantified by the PGM. The developed 3D DNA walking machine showed high sensitivity and good specificity, and the detection limits of 98 pM and 60 pM were obtained for the fluorescence-based assay and PGM-based assay, respectively. Compared with the single-modal detection, the developed DNA walking machine can achieve a unique double signal readout and more reliable sensitive performance. In addition, the proposed 3D DNA walking machine was successfully applied to detect miRNA in real biological samples. The 3D DNA walking machine with dual-modal detection has potential applications in disease diagnostics and clinical applications and can satisfy different testing requirements both in the laboratory and field.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Sensory Modalities
General senses refer to the broad category of sensory information detected by receptors in the body and can be further grouped into somatic and visceral senses. Somatic sensations include touch, pressure, temperature, and pain and are essential for navigating our environment and...
Dimensional Analysis
Conversion Factors and Dimensional Analysis
The unit...
Machines
A free-body diagram of the...
Glucose Homeostasis: Regulation of Blood Glucose
During fasting, when blood glucose levels are low, the pancreas secretes glucagon. it...
Machines: Problem Solving II
Glucose Transporters
Facilitated diffusion-glucose transporters (GLUTs) are encoded by the solute-linked carrier (SLC) family 2, subfamily A gene family, or SLC2A. The 14 GLUT protein members are distributed into three classes:

