Single-Molecule Detection of Nucleic Acids via Liposome Signal Amplification in Mass Spectrometry
Xiangcheng Lin,
Mengmeng Zhao,
Mingyue Li,
Juan Long,
Jing Zhang,
Fang Yu,
Fen Xu,
Lixian Sun
Affiliations
Xiangcheng Lin
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Mengmeng Zhao
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Mingyue Li
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Juan Long
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Jing Zhang
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Fang Yu
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Fen Xu
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Lixian Sun
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541004, China
A single-molecule detection method was developed for nucleic acids based on mass spectrometry counting single liposome particles. Before the appearance of symptoms, a negligible amount of nucleic acids and biomarkers for the clinical diagnosis of the disease were already present. However, it is difficult to detect extremely low concentrations of nucleic acids using the current methods. Hence, the establishment of an ultra-sensitive nucleic acid detection technique is urgently needed. Herein, magnetic beads were used to capture target nucleic acids, and liposome particles were employed as mass tags for single-particle measurements. Liposomes were released from magnetic beads via photocatalytic cleavage. Hence, one DNA molecule corresponded to one liposome particle, which could be counted using mass spectrometric measurement. The ultrasensitive detection of DNA (10–18 M) was achieved using this method.
