Abstract
Both protease overexpression and local pH changes are key signatures of cancer. However, the sensitive detection of protease activities and the accurate measurement of pH in a tumor environment remain challenging. Here, we develop a dual-response DNA probe that can simultaneously monitor protease activities and measure the local pH by translocation through α-hemolysin (αHL). The DNA probe bears a short peptide containing phenylalanine at a pre-designed position. Enzymatic cleavage of the peptide either exposes or removes the N-terminal phenylalanine that can form a complex with cucurbit[7]uril. Translocation of the DNA hybrid through αHL generates current signatures that can be used to quantify protease activities. Furthermore, the current signatures possess a pH-dependent pattern that reflects the local pH. Our results demonstrate that the versatile DNA probe may be further explored for simultaneously measuring multiple parameters of a complex system such as single cells in the future.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 14929-14934 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Angewandte Chemie - International Edition |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 42 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 14 2019 |
Keywords
- DNA probe
- host–guest systems
- nanopore
- simultaneous quantification
- single-molecule studies
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Catalysis
- Chemistry(all)