title: Using personal glucose meters and functional DNA sensors to quantify a variety of analytical targets.
abstract: Portable, low-cost and quantitative detection of a broad range of targets at home and in the field has the potential to revolutionize medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring. Despite many years of research, very few such devices are commercially available. Taking advantage of the wide availability and low cost of the pocket-sized personal glucose meter-used worldwide by diabetes sufferers-we demonstrate a method to use such meters to quantify non-glucose targets, ranging from a recreational drug (cocaine, 3.4 µM detection limit) to an important biological cofactor (adenosine, 18 µM detection limit), to a disease marker (interferon-gamma of tuberculosis, 2.6 nM detection limit) and a toxic metal ion (uranium, 9.1 nM detection limit). The method is based on the target-induced release of invertase from a functional-DNA-invertase conjugate. The released invertase converts sucrose into glucose, which is detectable using the meter. The approach should be easily applicable to the detection of many other targets through the use of suitable functional-DNA partners (aptamers, DNAzymes or aptazymes).
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000241:Adenosine / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002417:Cattle; D003042:Cocaine / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021881:DNA, Catalytic / Q000378:metabolism; D005374:Filtration; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D013594:Syringes; D013997:Time Factors; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D021881:DNA, Catalytic; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D014501:Uranium; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D004247:DNA; D003042:Cocaine; D000241:Adenosine