A Photoelectrochemical Nanoreactor for Single‐Cell Sampling and Near Zero‐Background Faradaic Detection of Intracellular microRNA

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 61; no. 47; pp. e202212752 - n/a
• Main Authors: Wang, Hai‐Yan, Xu, Yi‐Tong, Wang, Bing, Yu, Si‐Yuan, Shi, Xiao‐Mei, Zhao, Wei‐Wei, Jiang, Dechen, Chen, Hong‐Yuan, Xu, Jing‐Juan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 21-11-2022
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Biosensing Techniques - methods; Cytosol; DNA - metabolism; DNA Intercalator; Electrochemical Techniques - methods; Hybridization; Intracellular; Limit of Detection; Microrna; MicroRNAs - analysis; miRNA; Nanotechnology; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Photoelectric effect; Photoelectrochemistry; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Sampling; Single Cell Analysis; Zero-Background; Photoelectrochemistry; DNA Intercalator; Microrna; Zero-Background; Single Cell Analysis
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.202212752

Rational utilization of the rich light‐bio‐matter interplay taking place in single‐cell analysis represents a new technological direction in the field. The light‐fueled operation is expected to achieve advanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) single‐cell analysis with unknown possibilities. Here, a PEC nanoreactor capable of single‐cell sampling and near zero‐background Faradaic detection of intracellular microRNA (miR) is devised by the construction of a small reaction chamber accommodating the target‐triggered hybridization chain reaction for binding the metallointercalator of [Ru(bpy)2(dppz)]2+ as the signal reporter. Light stimulation of the dsDNA/metallointercalator adduct will induce the generation of photocurrents, underpinning a zero‐biased and near zero‐background PEC method toward Faradaic detection of non‐electrogenic miR at the single‐cell level. Using this nanotool, lower miR concentration in the near‐nucleus region than that in the main cytosol was revealed.
A photoelectrochemical nanoreactor was devised for single‐cell sampling and near zero‐background faradic detection of intracellular microRNA. This platform provided a new perspective for exploring light‐biomatter interplay toward single‐cell studies.