A Versatile Strategy of Designing Gold Nanoparticle-cDNA Nanoprobes in Developing Aptamer-Based Lateral Flow Assay...

Area of Science:

• Biosensing
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Aptamer-based lateral flow assays (Apt-LFA) show potential for detecting small molecules.
• Designing effective gold nanoparticle-complementary DNA (AuNP-cDNA) nanoprobes for Apt-LFA is challenging due to moderate aptamer affinity to small targets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a versatile strategy for designing an improved AuNP-cDNA nanoprobe for small-molecule Apt-LFA.
• To enhance the sensitivity and applicability of Apt-LFA for small-molecule detection.

Main Methods:

• A novel AuNPs@polyA-cDNA nanoprobe was designed, incorporating a polyA anchor blocker, control line complementary DNA (cDNAc), aptamer-binding complementary DNA (cDNAa), and auxiliary hybridization DNA (auxDNA).
• The lengths of auxDNA and cDNAa were optimized using adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) as a model target.
• The universality of the strategy was validated using kanamycin as another model target.

Main Results:

• The optimized AuNPs@polyA-cDNA nanoprobe enabled sensitive detection of ATP.
• The strategy demonstrated universality by successfully detecting kanamycin.
• The developed nanoprobe design offers improved performance for small-molecule Apt-LFA.

Conclusions:

• The proposed AuNPs@polyA-cDNA nanoprobe strategy is versatile and effective for small-molecule detection in Apt-LFA.
• This approach significantly enhances the application potential of Apt-LFA for various small molecules.
• The strategy provides a robust platform for developing sensitive and specific Apt-LFA devices.