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In this work, we proposed a selective and sensitive biosensor for microRNA detection based on the high specificity and affinity of anti-DNA:RNA hybrids antibody (S9.6 antibody) and alkaline phosphatase catalytic signal amplification. Briefly, after the hybridization of probe DNA and the target microRNA, the S9.6 antibody can be captured on the electrode surface through antigen-antibody immunoreaction. Then, alkaline phosphatase labeled goat anti-mouse IgG (ALP-IgG) was further captured on the electrode surface through the specific recognition effect between the primary antibody and the secondary antibody. Finally, ALP catalyzed the hydrolysis reaction of p -nitrophenyl phosphate to generate p -nitrophenol, resulting in a electrochemical oxidation signal. The simple signal amplification assay performed a successful linear range from 0.5-500 fM with a detection limit of 0.40 fM. Moreover, this biosensor exhibited high selectivity with discriminating only single-base mismatched microRNA sequence. Additionally, the simplicity of this method hold a great promise for further investigation of the role of microRNAs in phytohormone signaling transduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a sensitive and selective photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunoassay is developed for microRNA, where the graphite-like C 3 N 4 (g-C 3 N 4 ) is used as photoactive material and anti-DNA:RNA antibody is used as target microRNA recognition unit. With the doping of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), the photoactivity of g-C 3 N 4 is greatly improved. The capture probe for microRNA is assembled on the AuNPs-g-C 3 N 4 modified ITO surface through the Au S bond. After hybridizing with target microRNA, the DNA:RNA hybrids can be recognized by anti-DNA:RNA antibody and this antibody can be further captured on the electrode surface. Through the specific interaction between antibody and alkaline phosphatase labeled IgG (ALP-IgG), ALP-IgG can be captured, which can catalyze the hydrolysis of ascorbic acid-2-phosphate (AAP) to produce ascorbic acid as electron donor. As a result, a strong photocurrent is obtained and the expression level of microRNA can be detected based the change of photocurrent. The fabricated biosensor presents good detection sensitivity with the linear range of 5–3000 fM and the detection limit of 2.26 fM. The developed biosensor also shows accepted detection selectivity with identifying even single-base mismatched microRNA. The applicability of the biosensor is further evaluated by assaying the expression level change of microRNA in rice leaves with and without phytohormone incubation. This work is not only providing a new detection platform for microRNA assay, but also affording some information on the role of microRNA in phytohormone signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs play crucial role in post-transcriptional regulation for gene expression in animals, plants, and viruses. For the better understanding of microRNA and its functions, it is very important to develop effectively analytical method for microRNA detection. Herein, a novel electrochemical biosensor was fabricated for sensitive and selective detection of microRNA based on poly(U) polymerase mediated isothermal signal amplification, where poly(U) polymerase can catalyze the template independent addition of UMP from UTP to the 3’ end of RNA. Using this activity, the target microRNA can be successfully labeled with biotin conjugated UMPs at its 3′-end using biotin conjugated UTP (biotin-UTP) as donor. Then, the avidin conjugated alkaline phosphatase can be further captured to the 3′-end of the target microRNA based on the specific interaction between biotin and avidin. Finally, under the catalytic activity of alkaline phosphatase, the substrate of p -nitrophenyl phosphate disodium salt hexahydrate can be hydrolyzed to produce 4-nitrophenol. According to the relationship between the electrochemical signal of p -nitrophenol and the concentration of microRNA-319a, the content of microRNA-319a can be detected. This signal amplification method is simple and sensitive. The developed method can detect as low as 1.7 fM microRNA and produce precise and accurate linear dynamic range from 10 to 1000 fM. The fabricated biosensor was further applied to detect the expression level change of microRNA-319a in rice seedlings after incubation with five kinds of different phytohormones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]