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Updated: Sep 12, 2025

Open-Source Miniature Fluorimeter to Monitor Real-Time Isothermal Nucleic Acid Amplification Reactions in Resource-Limited Settings
Published on: February 3, 2021
Temperature-Modulation Categorization of Argonaute-Based Bioreactions Coupled with Amplification Methods for Nucleic
Peijie Shen1,2, Di Huang3, Mengjun Fang1,2
1Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Argonaute (Ago), a programmable nuclease, has recently emerged as a promising tool for nucleic acid detection. To achieve higher sensitivity, a nucleic acid amplification step is often introduced into the Ago-based detection system, leading the process suffered from the issues of temperature compatibility and device complexity. To address these limitations, integrating multiple reactions within a portable temperature control device shows significant potential to streamline the development and practical application of these systems. However, there are few systematic studies guiding the design of the integrated Ago-based detection platforms. Here, this review summarizes the representative Ago-based bioreactions combined with different amplification methods. We begin with an overview of recent advances in Ago protein research, followed by a classification of the existing detection platforms based on their temperature regulation mechanisms: multi-temperature reactions and isothermal reactions. Additionally, the enzymatic properties of the widely used Ago proteins are also discussed in this review and their working temperatures are highlighted when integrated into a specific detection process. Finally, we explore the future prospects and challenges for integrated Ago-based detection systems, aiming to offer readers a comprehensive understanding of these bioreactions' unique characteristics, potential applications, and design principles for next-generation nucleic acid detection devices.

