Controllable Assembly of a Quantum Dot-Based Aptasensor Guided by CRISPR/Cas12a for Direct Measurement of Circulating Tumor Cells in Human Blood

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 24; no. 7; pp. 2360 - 2368
• Main Authors: Zhang, Qian, Gao, Xin, Ho, Yi-Ping, Liu, Meng, Han, Yun, Li, Dong-ling, Yuan, Hui-min, Zhang, Chun-yang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 21.02.2024
• Subjects: quantum dot; non-invasive cancer diagnosis; CRISPR aptasensor; core−shell framework; circulating tumor cells
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c04828

Accurate and sensitive analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in human blood provides a non-invasive approach for the evaluation of cancer metastasis and early cancer diagnosis. Herein, we demonstrate the controllable assembly of a quantum dot (QD)-based aptasensor guided by CRISPR/Cas12a for direct measurement of CTCs in human blood. We introduce a magnetic bead@activator/recognizer duplex core–shell structure to construct a multifunctional platform for the capture and direct detection of CTCs in human blood, without the need for additional CTC release and re-identification steps. Notably, the introduction of magnetic separation ensures that only a target-induced free activator can initiate the downstream catalysis, efficiently avoiding the undesired catalysis triggered by inappropriate recognition of the activator/recognizer duplex structure by crRNAs. This aptasensor achieves high CTC-capture efficiency (82.72%) and sensitive detection of CTCs with a limit of detection of 2 cells mL–1 in human blood, holding great promise for the liquid biopsy of cancers.