DNA-Conjugated Gold Nanoparticles as High-Mass Probes in Imaging Mass Cytometry.

We employ imaging mass cytometry (IMC) to investigate in vitro uptake and cellular distribution of DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). IMC enables the multiparametric imaging of cell components and allows for the detection of AuNPs in cells with >100 times higher sensitivity than conventional confocal fluorescence imaging, as each nanoparticle contains thousands of atoms for signal amplification. Changes in the accumulation of nanoparticles in cells due to oligonucleotide sequence-dependent interactions are exploited to examine a model biomarker for hypoxia-microRNA-210. We find that AuNPs functionalized with microRNA-210-targeting sequence accumulate in hypoxic cells 3 to 4-fold compared to normoxic cells. The work examines the potential use of DNA-AuNP as high-mass probes for the analysis of nonabundant nucleic acids.

Factors influencing polyelectrolyte-aptamer multilayered films with target-controlled permeability for sensing applications.

Portable, easy-to-use and cost-effective sensing devices are desirable in healthcare, environmental monitoring and food safety. Herein we employ polyelectrolyte-aptamer (PE-aptamer) multilayered films that exhibit target-responsive permeability for colorimetric and electrochemical sensing. We present the quantitative detection of an exemplary small molecule, quinine, and address the potential for detection in complex media by examining interference effects. We optimize the film composition and investigate the importance of the structural-switching ability of the aptamer. The results from both platforms are corroborated to provide an outlook on the applicability of the PE-aptamer film for sensing. The label-free detection combined with the readily adaptive assembly process could be invaluable for diverse analytical fields.

Morphology-based plasmonic nanoparticle sensors: controlling etching kinetics with target-responsive permeability gate.

We present a sensing platform based on the morphological changes of plasmonic nanoparticles. Detection is achieved by using a stimulus-responsive polyelectrolyte-aptamer thin film to control the rate of diffusion of etchants that alter the shape and size of the nanoparticles. We show that the extent of morphological change and the colorimetric response depends on the amount of analyte bound. Contrary to conventional plasmonic sensors, our detection scheme does not rely on any interparticle interaction and is completely label-free, both in terms of the analyte and the capture probe. It presents new opportunities for designing facile, low-cost, and portable chip-based sensors for biodiagnostic and field analysis.