Nucleic acid hybridization on an electrically reconfigurable network of gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles enables microRNA detection in blood

Roya Tavallaie; Joshua McCarroll; Marion Le Grand; Nicholas Ariotti; Wolfgang Schuhmann; Eric Bakker; Richard David Tilley; David Brynn Hibbert; Maria Kavallaris; John Justin Gooding

doi:10.1038/s41565-018-0232-x

Nucleic acid hybridization on an electrically reconfigurable network of gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles enables microRNA detection in blood

Nat Nanotechnol. 2018 Nov;13(11):1066-1071. doi: 10.1038/s41565-018-0232-x. Epub 2018 Aug 27.

Authors

Roya Tavallaie^{1

2

3}, Joshua McCarroll^{2

4

5}, Marion Le Grand⁴, Nicholas Ariotti⁶, Wolfgang Schuhmann⁷, Eric Bakker⁸, Richard David Tilley^{1

2

6}, David Brynn Hibbert¹, Maria Kavallaris^{2

3

4

5}, John Justin Gooding^{9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
² Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³ ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ Tumour Biology and Targeting Program, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Children's Cancer Institute, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ School of Women's and Children's Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ Electron Microscope Unit, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, University of New I South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁷ Analytical Chemistry - Center for Electrochemical Sciences (CES), Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
⁸ Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁹ School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. justin.gooding@unsw.edu.au.
¹⁰ Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. justin.gooding@unsw.edu.au.
¹¹ ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. justin.gooding@unsw.edu.au.

PMID: 30150634
DOI: 10.1038/s41565-018-0232-x

Abstract

There is intense interest in quantifying the levels of microRNA because of its importance as a blood-borne biomarker. The challenge has been to develop methods that can monitor microRNA expression both over broad concentration ranges and in ultralow amounts directly in a patient's blood. Here, we show that, through electric-field-induced reconfiguration of a network of gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles modified by probe DNA (DNA-Au@MNPs), it is possible to create a highly sensitive sensor for direct analysis of nucleic acids in samples as complex as whole blood. The sensor is the first to be able to detect concentrations of microRNA from 10 aM to 1 nM in unprocessed blood samples. It can distinguish small variations in microRNA concentrations in blood samples of mice with growing tumours. The ultrasensitive and direct detection of microRNA using an electrically reconfigurable DNA-Au@MNPs network makes the reported device a promising tool for cancer diagnostics.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

A549 Cells
Animals
Coated Materials, Biocompatible / chemistry*
DNA Probes / chemistry*
Gold / chemistry*
Humans
Magnetite Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Mice
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Mice, Nude
MicroRNAs / blood*
Neoplasms, Experimental* / blood
Neoplasms, Experimental* / diagnosis
Nucleic Acid Hybridization / methods
RNA, Neoplasm / blood*

Substances

Coated Materials, Biocompatible
DNA Probes
Magnetite Nanoparticles
MicroRNAs
RNA, Neoplasm
Gold