Volume 54, Issue 45 pp. 13214-13218
Communication

A Modular, DNA-Based Beacon for Single-Step Fluorescence Detection of Antibodies and Other Proteins

Simona Ranallo

Simona Ranallo

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, Rome 00133 (Italy)

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Marianna Rossetti

Marianna Rossetti

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, Rome 00133 (Italy)

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Prof. Kevin W. Plaxco

Prof. Kevin W. Plaxco

Center for Bioengineering & Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (USA)

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Prof. Alexis Vallée-Bélisle

Corresponding Author

Prof. Alexis Vallée-Bélisle

Laboratory of Biosensors & Nanomachines, Département de Chimie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7 (Canada)

Alexis Vallée-Bélisle, Laboratory of Biosensors & Nanomachines, Département de Chimie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7 (Canada)

Francesco Ricci, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, Rome 00133 (Italy)

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Prof. Francesco Ricci

Corresponding Author

Prof. Francesco Ricci

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, Rome 00133 (Italy)

Alexis Vallée-Bélisle, Laboratory of Biosensors & Nanomachines, Département de Chimie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7 (Canada)

Francesco Ricci, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, Rome 00133 (Italy)

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First published: 04 September 2015
Citations: 93

Graphical Abstract

A versatile system for the one-step fluorescence detection of proteins is based on a conformation-switching stem–loop DNA scaffold that presents a recognition element on each of its two stem strands. The steric strain associated with the binding of target molecules opens the stem, thus enhancing the emission of an attached fluorophore/quencher pair.

Abstract

A versatile platform for the one-step fluorescence detection of both monovalent and multivalent proteins has been developed. This system is based on a conformation-switching stem–loop DNA scaffold that presents a small-molecule, polypeptide, or nucleic-acid recognition element on each of its two stem strands. The steric strain associated with the binding of one (multivalent) or two (monovalent) target molecules to these elements opens the stem, enhancing the emission of an attached fluorophore/quencher pair. The sensors respond rapidly (<10 min) and selectively, enabling the facile detection of specific proteins even in complex samples, such as blood serum. The versatility of the platform was demonstrated by detecting five bivalent proteins (four antibodies and the chemokine platelet-derived growth factor) and two monovalent proteins (a Fab fragment and the transcription factor TBP) with low nanomolar detection limits and no detectable cross-reactivity.

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