DNA-based Fluorescent Sensors

Thioamide-Based Fluorescent Protease Sensors

Thioamide quenchers can be paired with compact fluorophores to design "turn-on" fluorescent protease substrates. We have used this method to study a variety of serine-, cysteine-, carboxyl-, and metallo-proteases, including trypsin, chymotrypsin, pepsin, thermolysin, papain, and calpain. Since thioamides quench some fluorophores red-shifted from those naturally occurring in proteins, this techn...

Long-Wavelength, Reaction-Based, Fluorescent Sensors

Silica nanoparticle assisted DNA assays for optical signal amplification of conjugated polymer based fluorescent sensors.

A cationic conjugated polymer provided over 110-fold signal amplification for silica nanoparticle based assays, which allow detection of target DNAs at a concentration of 10 pM with a standard fluorometer.

Simple Fluorescent Sensors Engineered with Catalytic DNA ‘MgZ’ Based on a Non-Classic Allosteric Design

Most NAE (nucleic acid enzyme) sensors are composed of an RNA-cleaving catalytic motif and an aptameric receptor. They operate by activating or repressing the catalytic activity of a relevant NAE through the conformational change in the aptamer upon target binding. To transduce a molecular recognition event to a fluorescence signal, a fluorophore-quencher pair is attached to opposite ends of th...

Digital fluorescent pH sensors.

We designed polymeric sensors that created a digital-type fluorescence response to pH variation in an aqueous solution.