Hook-Like DNAzyme-Activated Autocatalytic Biosensor for the Universal Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria

DNAzyme-based assays have found extensive utility in in the detection of pathogenic bacteria but often suffer from limited sensitivity and specificity. SKLMP Member Prof. Chun Kit Kwok, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at City University of Hong Kong, collaborated with Prof. Huimin Wang, Associate Professor in the College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences at China Three Gorges University to introduce a novel hook-like DNAzyme-activated autocatalytic nucleic acid circuit for universal pathogenic bacteria detection. The related research paper has been published in the journal "Analytical Chemistry".

This innovative approach seamlessly integrates the recognition element DNAzyme with the isothermal, enzyme-free autocatalytic hybridization chain reaction and catalytic hairpin assembly to achieve robust signal amplification. The biosensor exhibits a remarkable linear response across a certain range of bacteria, with an impressive detection limit. It is noteworthy that this universal detection platform only requires modifications to the hook-like connector module to detect various pathogenic bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella typhimurium. The application of DNAzyme technology has been revolutionized, holding tremendous potential in advancing pathogenic bacteria detection and public health monitoring.

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