Proximity-induced DNA Ag NC enhancement with a DNA-fueled molecule machine for lung cancer-associated miRNA detection

Hairpin DNA-templated Ag NCs are atypically synthesized. Intriguingly, these dark Ag NCs can be activated to emit strong red fluorescence when their hairpin structure is opened by complementary DNA. Building on this exciting finding, an unprecedented and proximity-induced Ag NC enhancement system with a DNA-fueled molecule machine is built for the detection of lung cancer-associated miRNA. Importantly, this detection system can discriminate lung cancer patients from healthy donors with high accuracy (AUC = 1).