title: Label-free molecular beacons for biomolecular detection.
abstract: Biomolecular detection and imaging methods provide quantitative measurements essential for biological research. In this context, molecular beacon based sensors have emerged as powerful, no-wash imaging agents, providing target-specific fluorescent activation for nucleic acids, proteins, and small molecules. Conventional molecular beacons require double-labeled DNA sequences, which are costly and time-consuming to prepare. To address this issue, we developed DNA based label-free molecular beacons consisting of two regions: a signal-generating region based on human telomeric G-quadruplex sequence that activates Thioflavin T fluorescence and a target recognition sequence designed to interact in a molecular beacon format. We demonstrated the utility of these probes for the selective detection of DNA, RNA, and protein. Multiple probes were applied against a single target to achieve improved brightness in fluorescence detection of nucleic acid targets. This label-free strategy provides a straightforward, cost-effective alternative to fluorescently labeled oligonucleotides in biomolecular detection and imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Center for Nucleic Acids Science and Technology, Carnegie Mellon University , 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bruce A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Armitage
authors.forename: Marcel P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Bruchez
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D054856:G-Quadruplexes; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D004247:DNA