1
|
Sheffield Z, Alafeef M, Moitra P, Ray P, Pan D. N-gene-complementary antisense-oligonucleotide directed molecular aggregation of dual-colour carbon dots, leading to efficient fluorometric sensing of SARS-COV-2 RNA. NANOSCALE 2022; 14:5112-5120. [PMID: 35297914 DOI: 10.1039/d1nr07169f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic punctuated the need for rapid, mass testing for early detection of viral infection. Carbon dots are easily synthesized, cost-effective fluorescent nanoparticles whose surface functionalities enable facile conjugation with biorecognition elements suitable for molecular detection of viral RNA. Herein, we report that a pair of complementary antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) sequences can lead to a highly specific molecular aggregation of dual colour carbon dots (CDs) in the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The nanoprobes used ASOs highly specific to the N-gene of SARS-COV-2. When the ASOs are conjugated to blue and yellow citric acid-derived CDs, the combination of the ASO-CD pairs facilitates aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) of the measured fluorescence after hybridization with SARS-CoV-2 RNA. We found the sensor capable of differentiating between MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 samples and was found to have a limit of detection of 81 copies per μL. Additionally, we used dialysis to demonstrate that the change in emission upon aggregation is dependent on the compositional heterogeneity of the conjugated-carbon dot mixture.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zach Sheffield
- Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA.
- Center for Blood Oxygen Transport and Hemostasis, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine, 670 W Baltimroe St., Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA
| | - Maha Alafeef
- Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA.
- Center for Blood Oxygen Transport and Hemostasis, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine, 670 W Baltimroe St., Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA
- Bioengineering Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan
| | - Parikshit Moitra
- Center for Blood Oxygen Transport and Hemostasis, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine, 670 W Baltimroe St., Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA
| | - Priyanka Ray
- Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA.
- Center for Blood Oxygen Transport and Hemostasis, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine, 670 W Baltimroe St., Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA
| | - Dipanjan Pan
- Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA.
- Center for Blood Oxygen Transport and Hemostasis, Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine, 670 W Baltimroe St., Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA
- Bioengineering Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA
| |
Collapse
|