DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
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2026
·Vol. 116
·期 3
·117523
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IF 1.8
Huifeng Yang,Xiaoyi Li,Yimin Su,Jianxin Guo,Tengfei Wang,Zhigang Wang,Hai Fu,Zhi Chen,Zhongjian Xie,Defa Li
Purpose Acute respiratory infections caused by bacterial and viral pathogens pose a major global health burden. The recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA)-CRISPR-Cas12a system offers a promising point-of-care testing (POCT) platform, but its field deployment is limited by the instability of lyophilized reagents. This study aims to develop a composite lyoprotectant to enhance the stability of the RPA-CRISPR-Cas12a system for respiratory pathogen detection. Materials and methods A composite lyoprotectant composed of trehalose and carboxymethyl chitosan (Tre-CMC) was formulated at various mass ratios. The optimal ratio was identified by evaluating matrix microstructure, enzyme activity retention, and primer-dimer suppression. The lyophilized system was tested for sensitivity, specificity, and long-term stability against six respiratory pathogens (H1N1, IBV, Neisseria meningitidis , SARS-CoV-2, Streptococcus pneumoniae , and human adenovirus) using real-time fluorescence and gel electrophoresis. Results This study establishes a promising proof-of-concept framework for an integrated, lyophilized RPA-CRISPR–Cas12a diagnostic system. The optimal Tre: CMC ratio (2:1) produced a porous, non‑hygroscopic matrix that preserved reagent integrity. The lyophilized system achieved a detection limit of 10 copies/reaction within 30 min for all six pathogens, with 100% specificity. After six months of storage at 4°C, RPA enzyme activity remained above 89%, and Cas12a-crRNA complex functionality was fully retained. Tre-CMC significantly reduced primer-dimer formation and nonspecific background fluorescence. While clinical evaluation using 21 nasopharyngeal swab samples demonstrated 100% concordance with RT-qPCR—preliminarily supporting the system's potential diagnostic accuracy—we acknowledge that this initial methodological framework requires broader and more rigorous downstream validation with larger clinical cohorts to formally establish its robust diagnostic performance. Conclusion The Tre-CMC composite lyoprotectant effectively stabilizes the RPA-CRISPR-Cas12a system, enabling cold-chain-independent storage and reliable POCT for respiratory pathogens in resource-limited settings.
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Journal of Materials Chemistry B
·
2025
·
IF 5.7
Siyue Wang,Xiaotian Guan,Shuqing Sun
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a well-established biomarker whose plasma levels increase significantly during inflammatory and infectious episodes. It plays a vital role in the diagnosis of bacterial infections, autoimmune diseases, and cardiovascular risk assessment. However, conventional detection techniques often struggle to balance high sensitivity with a broad dynamic range. Here, we developed and validated a novel fluorescence-based aptasensor named AuCA (AuNP-enhanced CRISPR Aptasensor), which integrates nucleic acid aptamers, magnetic beads (MBs), gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), and the CRISPR/Cas12a system for robust CRP quantification. In this system, MBs functionalized with aptamer 1 selectively captured the target protein, while AuNPs co-modified with aptamer 2 and a Cas12a activation sequence (Trigger) enabled efficient signal transduction. Upon target binding, the Trigger activated the Cas12a/crRNA complex, initiating trans-cleavage of fluorescent reporters and producing a markedly amplified signal. The optimized AuCA platform achieved a low detection limit of 60 ng/mL and a quantifiable range of 0.1 -150 µg/mL. It exhibited excellent specificity and resistance to biological interference, ensuring reliable measurements even in complex sample matrices. When applied to clinical human plasma, AuCA demonstrated strong concordance with results from a commercial immunoturbidimetric assay. AuCA allowed the simultaneous detection of both standard and hypersensitive CRP (hsCRP), supporting comprehensive full-range CRP (frCRP) analysis with strong potential for clinical application.
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MICROCHEMICAL JOURNAL
·
2026
·
IF 5.2
Wenjia Dong,Xiaoyan Wu,Hongsheng Li,Junjie Yu,Siqi Xu,Yayun Jiang
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections progress rapidly, posing a significant threat to patient health. Culture-based drug susceptibility testing and nucleic acid amplification methods are time-consuming and complex, requiring specialized instruments and technicians. To address these limitations, we present a novel, visual POCT platform for MRSA detection with the naked eye. This visualization method uses CRISPR/ Ca s12a to accurately identify target genes, cleave the strand displacement amplification ( SD A) template, and regulate the aggregation of DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles ( Au NPs), with the resulting color change serving as a signal (CaSD@Au). The presence of the target gene activates CRISPR/Cas12a enzymatic activity, which cleaves the SDA template. This cleavage suppresses the SDA reaction, prevents DNA-AuNP aggregation, and maintains nanoparticle dispersion, resulting in a visible red color. In the absence of the target gene, the SDA reaction proceeds, and the gold nanoparticles aggregate, turning purple. Sensitivity analysis confirmed that CaSD@Au detects MRSA with a limit of detection of 5 cfu mL −1 . When combined with recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), CaSD@Au showed detection performance comparable to qPCR in the actual detection of 20 clinical strains. Furthermore, this platform enables results to be determined simply by observing color changes with the naked eye, without the need for complex instruments. The CaSD@Au platform offers reliable, sensitive, and specific detection, enhancing the applicability of CRISPR/Cas12a-based assays for pathogen detection, especially in resource-limited settings.
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ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
·
2023
·
IF 6.2
Jiuying Cui,Qisheng Luo,Cheng Wei,Xiandong Deng,Hongqu Liang,Jihua Wei,Yuanxun Gong,Qianli Tang,Kai Zhang,Xianjiu Liao
Background Escherichia coli ( E.coli ) is both a commensal and a foodborne pathogenic bacterium in the human gastrointestinal tract , posing significant potential risks to human health and food safety. However, one of the major challenges in E.coli detection lies in the preparation and storage of antibodies. In traditional detection methods, antibodies are indispensable, but their instability often leads to experimental complexity and increased false positives. This underscores the need for new technologies and novel sensors. Therefore, the development of a simple and sensitive method for analyzing E.coli would make significant contributions to human health and food safety. Results We constructed an electrochemical biosensor based on triple-helical DNA and entropy-driven amplification reaction (EDC) to inhibit the cleavage activity of Cas12a, enabling high-specificity detection of E.coli . Replacing antibodies with nucleic acid aptamers (Apt) as recognition elements, we utilized the triple-helical DNA generated by the binding of DNA2 and DNA5/DNA6 double-helical DNA through the entropy-driven amplification reaction to inhibit the collateral cleavage activity of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats gene editing system (CRISPR) and its associated proteins (Cas). By converting E.coli into electrical signals and recording signal changes in the form of square wave voltammetry (SWV), rapid detection of E.coli was achieved. Optimization of experimental conditions and data detection under the optimal conditions provided high sensitivity, low detection limits, and high specificity. Significance With a minimal detection limit of 5.02 CFU/mL and a linear range of 1 × 10 2 - 1 × 10 7 CFU/mL, the suggested approach was successfully verified to analyze E.coli at various concentrations. Additionally, after examining E.coli samples from pure water and pure milk, the recoveries ranged between 95.76 and 101.20%, demonstrating the method's applicability. Additionally, it provides a feasible research direction for the detection of pathogenic bacteria causing other diseases using the CRISPR/Cas gene editing system.
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MICROCHEMICAL JOURNAL
·
2023
·
IF 4.8
Xianfeng Wang,Chengxiang Chu,Yuanyi Deng,Yi Ma,Mei Yang,Huibo Luo,Danqun Huo,Changjun Hou
Accurate identification of Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) is crucial for food safety and clinical diagnosis. Particularly, identifying drug-resistant strains guides effective treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. Herein, we presented a highly efficient programmable CRISPR/Cas12a system for identification of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Genus-specific gene (spec gene) and methicillin-resistant gene (mecA gene) of S. aureus were amplified by PCR. According to the sequences of spec gene and mecA gene, corresponding programmable crRNAs were designed and prepared to construct CRISPR/Cas12a system, which recognized and bound to the PCR products through complementary interactions to activate the trans -cleavage activity of Cas12a. This led to the indiscriminate digestion of surrounding FQ-reporter, releasing a distinct fluorescence signal for MRSA identification. In addition, we devised a pair of AuNPs-DNA probes for colorimetric recognition of S. aureus . Target-triggered trans -cleavage for linker probe led to an non-aggregation of AuNPs-DNA probes pair. This led to a noticeable appearance of red color, enabling naked-eye detection. Thus, MRSA identification was realized with remarkable sensitivity and exceptional selectivity. Successful identification of MRSA in clinical samples validated the practical applications of the proposed CRISPR/Cas12a assay, establishing it as a universal platform for diagnosing pathogenic microorganisms with versatility and compatibility.
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ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
·
2023
·
IF 7.4
Yin Zhao,Dongjuan Chen,Zhichen Xu,Tao Li,Jiang Zhu,Rui Hu,Guoyong Xu,Ying Li,Yunhuang Yang,Maili Liu
Fast, simplified, and multiplexed detection of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) is of great importance for both clinical management and population screening. However, current HPV detection methods often require sophisticated instruments and laborious procedures to detect multiple targets. In this work, we developed a simple microfluidic dual-droplet device (M-D3) for the simultaneous detection of HPV16 and HPV18 by combining the CRISPR-Cas12a system and multiplexed recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assay. A new approach of combining pressure/vacuum was proposed for efficient droplet generation with minimal sample consumption. Two groups of droplets that separately encapsulate the relevant Cas12a/crRNA and the fluorescent green or red reporters are parallelly generated, followed by automatic imaging to discriminate the HPV subtypes based on the specific fluorescence of the droplets. The M-D3 platform performs with high sensitivity (∼0.02 nM for unamplified plasmids) and specificity in detecting HPV16 and HPV18 DNA. By combining the RPA and Cas12a assay, M-D3 allows on-chip detection of HPV16 and HPV18 DNA simultaneously within 30 min, reaching a detection limit of 10–18 M (∼1 copy/reaction). Moreover, the outstanding performance of M-D3 was validated in testing 20 clinical patient samples with HPV infection risk, showing a sensitivity of 92.3% and a specificity of 100%. By integrating the dual-droplet generator, CRISPR-Cas12a, and multiplexed RPA, the M-D3 platform provides an efficient way to discriminate the two most harmful HPV subtypes and holds great potential in the applications of multiplexed nucleic acid testing.
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ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
·
2025
·
IF 6
Xin Meng,Yuanyuan Yue,Mengyang Huang,Zhangqun Duan,Kang Liu,Lina Wu
Background Lead ion (Pb 2+ ) is a toxic heavy metal that poses severe threats to food safety. Traditional methods like inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) rely on bulky instrumentation, which are limited by high costs, complex sample preparation requirements, and inability to meet the demands for rapid on-site testing. Nanozyme-based biosensors have emerged as promising alternatives, yet single-mode sensors often suffer from matrix interference in complex food samples. Therefore, developing a rapid and reliable on-site method is critical for Pb 2+ detection. Results To address this challenge, a CRISPR/Cas12a-driven dual-mode biosensor integrating Pt/CeO 2 nanozyme-mediated peroxidase activity with GR-5 DNAzyme recognition was developed. The biosensor's design capitalizes on GR-5 DNAzyme for Pb 2+ -specific recognition, triggering CRISPR/Cas12a-mediated cleavage of electrochemical/colorimetric signal probe SH-ssDNA-Pt/CeO 2 to generate dual signals. This innovative platform synergizes electrochemical precision and colorimetric simplicity for Pb 2+ detection in complex food matrices. The biosensor achieved an ultra-sensitive electrochemical response (linear range: 0.002–200 nM; limit of detection: 0.14 pM) alongside a robust colorimetric readout (linear range: 0.5–2000 nM; limit of detection: 0.47 nM), representing significant sensitivity improvements over conventional single-mode sensors. Crucially, the intrinsic cross-verification mechanism between orthogonal signal modalities minimized false positives while ensuring >90.5 % recovery in spiked corn, edible oil, beef and red wine samples with RSD <5 %. These results highlight the potential of the dual-mode sensor as a practical, field deployable sensing platform for the detection of Pb 2+ . Significance This work innovatively integrates the specificity of CRISPR with the catalytic properties of nanozymes into a self-validating electrochemical/colorimetric dual-mode system. The detection method not only establishes a robust platform for highly sensitive, reliable and visualized detection of Pb 2+ in complex food matrices, but also pioneers a new paradigm for multi-modal biosensor design.
研究领域:
分析化学
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食品安全
·
生物传感器
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环境毒理学
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分子诊断
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纳米生物技术
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BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
·
2025
·
IF 10.5
Yining Zhao,Ziye Liu,Ziting Liu,Juan Zhang,Jinghui Peng,Genxi Li
Prosthetic joint infection (PJI), which is still difficult to be diagnosing, is caused by bacterial infection. Rapid detection for trace amounts of bacteria should be a solution; however, the existing assays cannot serve for PJI diagnosis due to the inherent limitations. Herein, a strategy based on supramolecular chemistry mediated Cas12a catalytic aggregation (CCA) is explored in this work for ultrasensitive detection of universal bacteria. In the design, supramolecular chemistry is introduced to impede the cis-cleavage of activated Cas12a, resulting in its aggregation in the surrounding of bacteria with the linkage of CCA probe. Since Cas12a aggregation owns excellently enhanced catalytic efficiency, the CCA-based strategy can be used for bacterial analysis with a limit of detection as low as 1 CFU/mL. With high sensitivity, reproducibility, generalizability, and stability, the CCA-based strategy can be applied for the detection of clinical effusion samples. The remarkable performance of CCA-based strategy has also demonstrated its robust potential to be a simple, rapid, and highly sensitive bacteria diagnostic tool, paving the way for prompt diagnosis and management of PJI.
研究领域:
微生物学
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分子诊断学
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生物医学工程
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转化医学
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感染性疾病
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纳米生物技术
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临床检验医学
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BIOELECTROCHEMISTRY
·
2026
·
IF 4.9
Mingzhu Yang,Dujuan Li,Ao Wang,Yifan Zhang,Jiale Ouyang,Xinyi Wang,Liang Hong,Dingyi Tong,Minghua Wang,Jianhan Lin,Qiong Luo,Gaofeng Wang
Breast cancer, a globally prevalent malignancy in women, requires early diagnosis to improve patient outcomes, where ctDNA serves as a key biomarker. In the present study, an electrochemical biosensor based on CRISPR/Cas12a and Au@UiO-66 nanozyme synergistic dual amplification was developed to achieve ultrasensitive detection of breast cancer marker ctDNA. Au@UiO-66-modified ssDNA probes were anchored to the gold electrode via thiol groups. The intact ssDNA probe anchors Au@UiO-66 nanozyme to the electrode, where its peroxidase-like activity efficiently catalyzes H 2 O 2 reduction to generate amplified reduction peak currents. Target ctDNA activates Cas12a's trans-cleavage capacity by binding specifically to crRNA. Under the presence of the target, Au@UiO-66 nanozymes are released, resulting in a discernible drop in the peak current linked to H 2 O 2 reduction. Benefiting from the optimized experimental conditions, the biosensor demonstrates a broad linear detection range (from 10 fM to 10 nM) for the target ctDNA, along with an exceptionally low detection limit of 6.14 fM. Successful detection in human serum samples demonstrates its practicality. The platform's high specificity is attributed to the programmable crRNA design, enabling detection of specified DNA sequences and showcasing significant adaptability for diagnosing multiple genetic targets, highlighting its potential in clinical cancer diagnosis.
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MICROCHEMICAL JOURNAL
·
2026
·
IF 5.2
Yaqi Wang,Xinning Wang,Xin Ji,Yunxuan Weng,Xiaoying Zhao
Zearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin that poses severe health risks to humans and livestock through contaminated cereals and feed. In this study, a hydrogel-based sensor was developed for sensitive visual detection of ZEN. The sensor integrates a DNA aptamer-crosslinked polyacrylamide hydrogel encapsulating gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with a rolling circle amplification (RCA)-assisted CRISPR/Cas12a system for signal enhancement. Upon ZEN binding, the released complementary DNA triggers RCA, generating repetitive DNA strands that activate Cas12a. The activated Cas12a efficiently cleaves numerous single-stranded DNA crosslinkers within the hydrogel, leading to substantial dissociation and release of AuNPs for colorimetric readout. This strategy achieves high specificity and a significantly improved detection limit of 1.5 nM for ZEN, which is over 3000-fold lower than that of the aptamer-hydrogel system without amplification. The sensor enables rapid, simple, and cost-effective on-site quantification of ZEN, with the detection sensitivity and linear range well suited for food safety monitoring applications.
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MICROCHEMICAL JOURNAL
·
2025
·
IF 5.1
Shichao Peng,Hang Zhai,Yunyun Tan,Yang Liu,Junliang Chen,Fan'ge Kong
Pseudomonas tolaasii , a widely distributed pathogenic bacterium, causes brown blotch disease of edible mushrooms, limiting the advancement of the edible mushroom industry in China. A one-tube method platform that combined clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) system and recombinase-aided amplification (RAA) for P. tolaasii detection was developed. The sub-optimal protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequence was selected for the recognition of target DNA to achieve the one-tube detection. Additionally, fluorescent DNA probe and lateral-flow dipsticks (LFD) were utilized for visualization. The established one-tube detection method enabled visual detection, achieving detection limits of 1.6 × 10 −6 ng/μL and 1.6 × 10 −5 ng/μL P. tolaasii recombined plasmid, respectively, by integrating LFD or fluorescent ssDNA probe. It exhibited good specificity, successfully recognizing the P. tolaasii from other 5 common bacteria, including P. aeruginosa , Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Brevundimonas di min uta , and Bacillus thuringiensis. The detection time was approximately 25 min. Overall, a CRISPR-coupled RAA method employing suboptimal PAM sequences was developed for one-tube, visual detection of P. tolaasii with high sensitivity and specificity, enabling visual naked-eye readout. The developed method offers a convenient and user-friendly tool for the early diagnosis of P. tolaasii -related diseases in edible mushroom cultivation.
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BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
·
2026
·
IF 11.8
Yuanyuan Miao,Chuang Wang,Yue Peng,Xinyuan Sun,Zhaokun Zheng,Qianlei Zhang,Wenting Cheng,Jinlong Li
Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-positive exosomes hold significant potential for the diagnosis and risk assessment of prostate cancer. However, accurate detection is severely hindered by their low abundance in blood and interference from similarly sized particles. In this study, we have developed a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM)-assembled clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas12a activation-based fluorescent and colorimetric dual-modal biosensor for the highly sensitive detection of PSMA-positive exosomes. In this work, two split strands respectively containing CD63 and PSMA aptamers are utilized to bind CD63 and PSMA on the exosome surface, forming a template that induces the opening of a hairpin DNA (HP DNA). A PAM site forms via hairpin-to-double-stranded structure transition. CRISPR-Cas12a recognizes PAM, activates to cleave FAM-labeled probes for fluorescence, while cerium dioxide nanozyme (CeO 2 NZ) (with phosphatase-mimicking activity) hydrolyzes cleavage products. Hydroxyl radicals from hydrolysis oxidize 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to induce colorimetry. CRISPR-Cas12a-nanozyme dual recognition significantly improves prostate cancer exosome detection selectivity and sensitivity. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection for the fluorescence and colorimetric modes reach 49 particles/μL and 63 particles/μL, respectively. By mutually validating dual detection modes, this biosensing technology accurately distinguishes prostate cancer patients from healthy individuals, holding great promise for early diagnosis.
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