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Programmable RNA-based systems for sensing and diagnostic applications

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Abstract

The emerging field of RNA nanotechnology harnesses the versatility of RNA molecules to generate nature-inspired systems with programmable structure and functionality. Such methodology has therefore gained appeal in the fields of biosensing and diagnostics, where specific molecular recognition and advanced input/output processing are demanded. The use of RNA modules and components allows for achieving diversity in structure and function, for processing information with molecular precision, and for programming dynamic operations on the grounds of predictable non-covalent interactions. When RNA nanotechnology meets bioanalytical chemistry, sensing of target molecules can be performed by harnessing programmable interactions of RNA modules, advanced field-ready biosensors can be manufactured by interfacing RNA-based devices with supporting portable platforms, and RNA sensors can be engineered to be genetically encoded allowing for real-time imaging of biomolecules in living cells. In this article, we report recent advances in RNA-based sensing technologies and discuss current trends in RNA nanotechnology-enabled biomedical diagnostics. In particular, we describe programmable sensors that leverage modular designs comprising dynamic aptamer-based units, synthetic RNA nanodevices able to perform target-responsive regulation of gene expression, and paper-based sensors incorporating artificial RNA networks.

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Funding

A.P. received support from the University of Rome Tor Vergata under the grant “MIRA” no E81I18000200005. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no 704120 (“MIRNANO”). A.B. is a global Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow. M.R. and S.R. are supported from a Fondazione Umberto Veronesi “postdoctoral fellowship 2019”. 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Sciences and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy

    Marianna Rossetti, Erica Del Grosso, Simona Ranallo, Davide Mariottini, Alessandro Bertucci & Alessandro Porchetta

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA

    Andrea Idili

  3. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Alessandro Bertucci

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  1. Marianna Rossetti
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  2. Erica Del Grosso
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  4. Davide Mariottini
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  5. Andrea Idili
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  6. Alessandro Bertucci
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Correspondence to Alessandro Bertucci or Alessandro Porchetta.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Published in the topical collection Young Investigators in (Bio-)Analytical Chemistry with guest editors Erin Baker, Kerstin Leopold, Francesco Ricci, and Wei Wang.

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Rossetti, M., Del Grosso, E., Ranallo, S. et al. Programmable RNA-based systems for sensing and diagnostic applications. Anal Bioanal Chem 411, 4293–4302 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-019-01622-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-019-01622-7

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