Janus hydrogel-based fuel stimulant powered amplification for multiple detections of miRNA biomarkers in gastric cancer
Jaewoo Lim, Jin-Seong Hwang, Seung Beom Seo, Byunghoon Kang, Soojin Jang, Seong Uk Son, Jisun Ki, Jang‐Seong Kim, Taejoon Kang, Juyeon Jung, Tae‐Su Han, Eun‐Kyung Lim
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) circulating in body fluid have emerged as potential biomarkers for various diseases; however, owing to their low concentrations and short lengths (∼22 nt), their clinical applications are still limited. Therefore, a highly sensitive and selective novel diagnostic platform for miRNA detection is required. Here, we present a hydrogel-based fuel stimulant-powered (FSP) amplification of fluorescent signals to detect circulating miRNAs from clinical samples of human serum. The advantage of this method is that it has high sensitivity as a fuel-assisted DNA cascade reaction that does not require temperature control and enzymes used for nucleic acid amplification. Further, we developed a Janus-type hydrogel for the simultaneous detection of the gastric cancer-associated miRNAs, miR-135b and miR-21. The detection limit of this hydrogel-based FSP amplification using synthetic miRNAs was estimated as < 10 fmol. We also validated the performance of this amplification process in in vitro and in vivo models and clinical samples. Therefore, we demonstrate that Janus hydrogel-based FSP amplification can selectively and sensitively identify the overexpression of miR-135b and miR-21 in clinical samples, thereby helping distinguish gastric cancer patients from healthy donors.