Synergistic cell membrane-coated ECL-DNA biosensor for specificity-enhanced drug lead evaluation

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Cell membrane coating technology offers unique biointerfacing for drug assessment.
• Conventional methods like HPLC face limitations in specificity and accuracy due to non-specific adsorption and background signals.
• Existing techniques struggle with precise detection of drug-target receptor interactions in complex biological samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL)-DNA biosensor platform for specific drug-target receptor interaction detection.
• To overcome the limitations of conventional methods by integrating aptamers with cell membrane coating technology.
• To provide a highly specific and sensitive tool for preclinical drug activity evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Integration of aptamers with cell membrane coating technology to create a synergistic biosensor platform.
• Utilized competitive binding between aptamers and drug candidates for enhanced receptor specificity.
• Employed an ECL detection system with signal cascade amplification and 3D DNA walkers for high accuracy and sensitivity.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a linear dynamic range of 1 nmol/L to 2 μmol/L for desloratadine activity detection.
• Achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.16 nmol/L for desloratadine.
• Successfully evaluated the binding activity of eight drugs to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and characterized their pharmacological activities.

Conclusions:

• The aptamer-cell membrane coating synergistic strategy provides excellent specificity and ultra-high sensitivity for drug activity assessment.
• The developed ECL-DNA biosensor platform is a valuable tool for elucidating drug-receptor mechanisms of action.
• This approach offers a robust reference for preclinical drug activity evaluation, improving accuracy and reliability.