A nanoscale DNA-Au dendrimer as a signal amplifier for the universal design of functional DNA-based SERS biosensors

摘要

The use of a nanoscale DNA-Au dendrimer as a signal amplifier was proposed for the universal design of functional DNA-based ultra-sensitive SERS biosensors. This novel design combines the high specificity of functional DNA with the high sensitivity of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy, resulting in sensitivity superior to that of previously reported sensors. In the past two decades, the progress in biochemistry has resulted in producing functional DNA,1 a new class of DNA that can either perform catalytic reactions (known as DNAzymes) or bind to a target molecule (known as aptamers) with the ability to recognize a broad range of targets.