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Engineering Molecular Recognition with Bio-mimetic Polymers on Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

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Enzymatically Controlled Nanoflares for Specific Molecular Recognition and Biosensing.

Ya Zhao¹, Jian Zhao², Jingfang Zhang³

¹School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.

Analytical Chemistry

|June 15, 2022

Summary

Researchers developed novel enzymatically controlled nanoflares for highly specific cancer cell sensing. This biosensing strategy overcomes on-target, off-tumor interference, enabling precise in vitro and in vivo cancer imaging and diagnosis.

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Folding and Characterization of a Bio-responsive Robot from DNA Origami

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Published on: December 3, 2015

Area of Science:

Biomedical Engineering
Molecular Imaging
Nanotechnology

Background:

In situ sensing of cancer cell species is crucial for understanding cancer processes.
Conventional biosensors face challenges with on-target, off-tumor interference, limiting specificity.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel strategy for enzymatically controlled nanoflares for specific sensing and imaging of molecular targets in tumor cells.
To overcome the limitations of conventional probes by enhancing tumor specificity.

Main Methods:

Designed triggerable nanoflares by engineering structure-switching aptamers with enzyme-activatable sites.
Conjugated aptamers onto gold nanoparticles.
Validated sensor response to specific enzymes in cancer cells versus normal cells.

Main Results:

Nanoflare sensors showed no response in normal cells but were catalytically activated by cancer-specific enzymes.
Achieved cancer-specific sensing and imaging both in vitro and in vivo.
Demonstrated improved tumor specificity compared to conventional methods.

Conclusions:

The enzymatically controlled nanoflare strategy enables precise cancer-specific sensing and imaging.
This approach facilitates the detection of diverse tumor targets, advancing smart probe development for cancer diagnosis.