A portable target-triggered fluorogenic RNA switch functionalized hydrogel kit for rapid visual detection of...

Developing effective strategies for the sensitive and accurate detection of colorectal cancer biomarkers is of great significance for improving its early screening. Herein, a novel visual detection platform based on target-driven fluorogenic RNA switch lighting-up for label free measurement of miRNA-126 is demonstrated. For the first time, Pepper RNA with an acrydite group (acrydite-Pepper) is covalently immobilized into the hydrogel network via photopolymerization. The fluorogenic RNA switch simultaneously serves as both a capture probe and a signal output probe, and the conformational change of the switch is induced in the presence of target miRNA through Watson-Crick base complementary pairing. This Pepper RNA functionalized hydrogel kit exhibits a limit of detection (LOD) of 23.8 pM and 0.53 pM for the different detection platform of fluorescence microscopic and microplate reader, making it suitable for rapid and sensitive on-site detection. This strategy provides a simple-to-operate, low-cost, and easily visualized new method for the detection of colorectal cancer-related miRNA, laying a foundation for future applications in diluted biological sample analysis and preliminary point-of-care testing (POCT).