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An electrochemical determination strategy for miRNA based on bimetallic nanozyme and toehold-mediated DNA replacement procedure

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Abstract

An electrochemical strategy based on bimetallic nanozyme in collaboration with toehold-mediated DNA replacement effect is proposed for the sensitive determination of miRNA-21. The AuPt nanoparticles (AuPt NPs) are prepared as a catalytic beacon; it shows favorable peroxidase properties with a Michaelis contant (Km) of 0.072 mM for H2O2, which is capable of catalyzing H2O2 to induce an intense redox reaction, and causing a measurable electrochemical signal. To further enhance the strength of the signal response, a novel toehold-mediated DNA replacement strategy is employed. DNA strands with specific sequences are modified on electrodes and AuPt NPs, respectively. In the presence of miRNA-21, a cyclic substitution effect is subsequently activated via a specific toehold sequence and leads to a large accumulation of AuPt NPs on the electrodes. Subsequently, a strong signal depending on the amount of miRNA-21 is obtained after adding a small amount of H2O2. The analytical range of this determination method is from 0.1 pM to 1.0 nM, and the LOD is 84.1 fM. The spike recoveries for serum samples are 95.0 to 102.4% and the RSD values are 3.7 to 5.8%. The results suggests a promising application of the established method in clinical testing and disease diagnosis.

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Funding

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21575043, 52070080, 22004039, and 22206069), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2020A1515110256), Science and Technology Projects Foundation (Basic and Applied Basic Research) in Guangzhou (Nos. 202102020043 and 202102080612), and Foundation of Department of Education of Guangdong Province (No. 2020KTSCX033).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Biomedicine, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China

    Zhanying Su, Ying Yu, Bixia Lin, Yumin Wang, Manli Guo & Yujuan Cao

  2. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, 330063, People’s Republic of China

    Li Zhang

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  1. Zhanying Su
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Su, Z., Zhang, L., Yu, Y. et al. An electrochemical determination strategy for miRNA based on bimetallic nanozyme and toehold-mediated DNA replacement procedure. Microchim Acta 190, 149 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-023-05720-3

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