Structure-Switching Aptamer Triggering Hybridization Chain Reaction on the Cell Surface for Activatable Theranostics

The ability to probe low-abundance biomolecules or transport a high-load drug in target cells is essential for biology and theranostics. We develop a novel activatable theranostic approach by using a structure-switching aptamer triggered hybridization chain reaction (HCR) on the cell surface, which for the first time creates an aptamer platform enabling real-time activation and amplification for fluorescence imaging and targeting therapy. The aptamer probe is designed not to initiate HCR in its free state but trigger HCR on binding to the target cell via structure switching. The HCR not only amplifies fluorescence signals from a fluorescence-quenched probe for activatable tumor imaging but also accumulates high-load prodrugs from a drug-labeled probe and induces its uptake and conversion into cisplatin in cells for selective tumor therapy. An in vitro assay shows that this approach affords efficient signal amplification for fluorescence detection of target protein tyrosine kinase-7 (PTK7) with a detection limit of 1 pM. Live cell studies reveal that it provides high-contrast fluorescence imaging and highly sensitive detection of tumor cells, while renders high-efficiency drug delivery into tumor cells via an endocytosis pathway. The results imply the potential of the developed approach as a promising platform for early stage diagnosis and precise therapy of tumors

Terminal Protection of Small-Molecule-Linked DNA for Sensitive Electrochemical Detection of Protein Binding via Selective Carbon Nanotube Assembly

Small-molecule-linked DNA has emerged as a versatile tool for the interaction assay between small organic molecules and their protein receptors. We report herein the proof-of-principle of a terminal protection assay of small-molecule-linked DNA. This assay is based on our new finding that single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) terminally tethered to a small molecule is protected from the degradation by exonuclease I (Exo I) when the small molecule moiety is bound to its protein target. This finding translates the binding of small molecules to proteins into the presence of a specific DNA sequence, which enables us to probe the interaction between small organic molecules and their protein targets using various DNA sequence amplification and detection technologies. On the basis of selective assembly of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with surface-tethered small-molecule-linked ssDNA not protected by protein binding, a novel electrochemical strategy for terminal protection assay has been developed. Through detecting the redox signal mediated by SWNT assembly on a 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid-blocked electrode, this strategy is able to ensure substantial signal amplification and a low background current. This strategy is demonstrated for quantitative analysis of the interaction of folate with a tumor biomarker of folate receptor (FR), and a detection limit of 3 pM FR is readily achieved with desirable specificity and sensitivity, indicating that the terminal protection assay can offer a promising platform for small molecule−protein interaction studies

Electrostatic Nucleic Acid Nanoassembly Enables Hybridization Chain Reaction in Living Cells for Ultrasensitive mRNA Imaging

Efficient approaches for intracellular delivery of nucleic acid reagents to achieve sensitive detection and regulation of gene and protein expressions are essential for chemistry and biology. We develop a novel electrostatic DNA nanoassembly that, for the first time, realizes hybridization chain reaction (HCR), a target-initiated alternating hybridization reaction between two hairpin probes, for signal amplification in living cells. The DNA nanoassembly has a designed structure with a core gold nanoparticle, a cationic peptide interlayer, and an electrostatically assembled outer layer of fluorophore-labeled hairpin DNA probes. It is shown to have high efficiency for cellular delivery of DNA probes via a unique endocytosis-independent mechanism that confers a significant advantage of overcoming endosomal entrapment. Moreover, electrostatic assembly of DNA probes enables target-initialized release of the probes from the nanoassembly via HCR. This intracellular HCR offers efficient signal amplification and enables ultrasensitive fluorescence activation imaging of mRNA expression with a picomolar detection limit. The results imply that the developed nanoassembly may provide an invaluable platform in low-abundance biomarker discovery and regulation for cell biology and theranostics

Activity-Based DNA-Gold Nanoparticle Probe as Colorimetric Biosensor for DNA Methyltransferase/Glycosylase Assay

We have developed a novel biosensor platform for colorimetric detection of active DNA methyltransferase/glycosylase based on terminal protection of the DNA-gold nanoparticle (AuNP) probes by mechanistically covalent trapping of target enzymes. This biosensor relied on covalent capture of target enzymes by activity-based DNA probes which created terminal protection of the DNA probes tethered on AuNPs from degradation by Exo I and III. This biosensor has the advantages of having highly sensitive, rapid, and convenient detection due to its use of the homogeneous assay format and strong surface plasmon absorption. Because the activity-based probes (ABPs) are mechanistically specific to target enzymes, this strategy also offers improved selectivity and can achieve the information about both abundance and activity of the enzymes. We have demonstrated this strategy using a human DNA (cytosine-5) methyltransferase (Dnmt 1) and a human 8-oxoguanine glycosylase (hOGG 1). The results reveal that the colorimetric response increases dynamically with increasing activity of the enzymes, implying a great potential of this strategy for DNA methyltransferase/glycosylase detection and molecular diagnostics and drug screening. Our strategy can also be used as a promising and convenient approach for visualized screening of ABPs for DNA modifying enzymes

Self-Catalytic Growth of Unmodified Gold Nanoparticles as Conductive Bridges Mediated Gap-Electrical Signal Transduction for DNA Hybridization Detection

A simple and sensitive gap-electrical biosensor based on self-catalytic growth of unmodified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as conductive bridges has been developed for amplifying DNA hybridization events. In this strategy, the signal amplification degree of such conductive bridges is closely related to the variation of the glucose oxidase (GOx)-like catalytic activity of AuNPs upon interaction with single- and double-stranded DNA (ssDNA and dsDNA), respectively. In the presence of target DNA, the obtained dsDNA product cannot adsorb onto the surface of AuNPs due to electrostatic interaction, which makes the unmodified AuNPs exhibit excellent GOx-like catalytic activity. Such catalytic activity can enlarge the diameters of AuNPs in the glucose and HAuCl₄ solution and result in a connection between most of the AuNPs and a conductive gold film formation with a dramatically increased conductance. For the control sample, the catalytic activity sites of AuNPs are fully blocked by ssDNA due to the noncovalent interaction between nucleotide bases and AuNPs. Thus, the growth of the assembled AuNPs will not happen and the conductance between microelectrodes will be not changed. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the developed strategy exhibited a sensitive response to target DNA with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Moreover, this strategy was also demonstrated to provide excellent differentiation ability for single-nucleotide polymorphism. Such performances indicated the great potential of this label-free electrical strategy for clinical diagnostics and genetic analysis under real biological sample separation

Terminal Protection of Small Molecule-Linked DNA: A Versatile Biosensor Platform for Protein Binding and Gene Typing Assay

Assays of small molecule−protein interactions are of tremendous importance in chemical genetics, molecular diagnostics, and drug development. This work reports a new finding of generalized terminal protection that small molecule-DNA chimeras are protected from degradation by various DNA exonucleases, when the small molecule moieties are bound to their protein targets. This generalization converts small molecule−protein interaction assays into the detection of DNA of various structures, affording a useful mechanism for the analytics of small molecules. On the basis of this mechanism, a label-free biosensor strategy has been developed for a homogeneous assay of protein−small molecule interactions based on the fluorescence staining detection. Also, a label-free SNP genotyping technique is proposed based on polymerase extension of a single nucleotide with a small molecule label. The developed techniques are demonstrated using a model protein−small molecule system of biotin/streptavidin and a model SNP system of human β-globin gene around the position of codon 39. The results revealed that the protein−small molecule interaction assay strategy shows dynamic responses in the concentration range from 0.5 to 100 nM with a detection limit of 0.1 nM, and the SNP typing technique gives dynamic responses in the concentration range from 0.1 to 200 nM with a detection limit of 0.02 nM. Besides desirable sensitivity, the developed strategies also offer high selectivity, excellent reproducibility, low cost, and simplified operations, implying that these techniques may hold considerable potential for molecular diagnostics and genomic research

Amphiphilic BODIPY-Based Photoswitchable Fluorescent Polymeric Nanoparticles for Rewritable Patterning and Dual-Color Cell Imaging

Photoswitchable fluorescent polymeric nanoparticles (PFPNs) with controllable molecular weight, high contrast, biocompatibility, and prominent photostability are highly desirable but still scarce for rewritable printing, super-resolution bioimaging, and rewritable data storage. In this study, novel amphiphilic BODIPY-based PFPNs with considerable merits are first synthesized by a facile one-pot RAFT-mediated miniemulsion polymerization method. The polymerization is performed by adopting polymerizable BODIPY and spiropyran derivatives, together with MMA as monomer, and mediated by utilizing biocompatible PEO macro-RAFT agent as both control agent and reactive stabilizer. The amphiphilic BODIPY-based PFPNs not only exhibit reversibly photoswitchable fluorescence properties under the alternative UV and visible light illumination through induced intraparticle fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) but also display controllable molecular weight with narrow polydispersity index (PDI), high contrast of fluorescence, tunable energy transfer efficiency, good biocompatibility, excellent photostability, favorable photoreversibility, etc. The as-prepared PFPNs are successfully demonstrated for rewritable fluorescence patterning and high-contrast dual-color fluorescence imaging of living cells, implying its potential for rewritable data storage and broad biological applications in cell biology and diagnostics

Li_5.5PS_4.5Cl_1.5-Based All-Solid-State Battery with a Silver Nanoparticle-Modified Graphite Anode for Improved Resistance to Overcharging and Increased Energy Density

All-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) are attracting tremendous attention due to their improved safety and higher energy density. However, the use of a metallic lithium anode poses a major challenge due to its low stability and processability. Instead, the graphite anode exhibits high reversibility for the insertion/deinsertion of lithium ions, giving ASSLBs excellent cyclic stability but a lower energy density. To increase the energy density of ASSLBs with the graphite anode, it is necessary to lower the negative/positive (N/P) capacity ratio and to increase the charging voltage. These strategies bring new challenges to lithium metal plating and dendrite growth. Here, a nano-Ag-modified graphite composite electrode (Ag@Gr) is developed to overcome these shortcomings for Li5.5PS4.5Cl1.5-based ASSLBs. The Ag@Gr composite exhibits a strong ability to inhibit lithium metal plating and fast lithium-ion transport kinetics. Ag nanoparticles can accommodate excess Li, and the as-obtained Li–Ag alloy enhances the kinetics of the composite electrode. The ASSLB with the Li(Ni0.8Co0.1Mn0.1)O2 cathode and Ag@Gr anode achieves an energy density of 349 W h kg–1. The full cell using Ag@Gr with an N/P ratio of 0.6 also highlights the rate performance. This work provides a simple and effective method to regulate the charge transport kinetics of graphite anodes and improve the cyclic performance and energy density of ASSLBs

Additional file 1 of Cytomegalovirus reactivation in immunocompetent mechanical ventilation patients: a prospective observational study

Additional file 1. Figure S1. Incidence of CMV Reactivation within 28 day Hospitalization in ICU. Figure S2. Time of CMV Reactivation within 28 day Hospitalization in ICU. Figure S3. DNAemia of CMV Reactivation within 28 day Hospitalization in ICU. Table S1. Immune Indicators of the Study Patients at the Time of ICU Admission