Quantum Material-Based Self-Propelled Microrobots for the Optical “On-the-Fly” Monitoring of DNA

Quantum dot-based materials have been found to be excellent platforms for biosensing and bioimaging applications. Herein, self-propelled microrobots made of graphene quantum dots (GQD–MRs) have been synthesized and explored as unconventional dynamic biocarriers toward the optical “on-the-fly” monito...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 15; no. 50; pp. 58548 - 58555
Main Authors Jyoti, Muñoz, Jose, Pumera, Martin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Chemical Society 20.12.2023
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Summary:Quantum dot-based materials have been found to be excellent platforms for biosensing and bioimaging applications. Herein, self-propelled microrobots made of graphene quantum dots (GQD–MRs) have been synthesized and explored as unconventional dynamic biocarriers toward the optical “on-the-fly” monitoring of DNA. As a first demonstration of applicability, GQD–MRs have been first biofunctionalized with a DNA biomarker (i.e., fluorescein amidite-labeled, FAM-L) via hydrophobic π-stacking interactions and subsequently exposed toward different concentrations of a DNA target. The biomarker–target hybridization process leads to a biomarker release from the GQD–MR surface, resulting in a linear alteration in the fluorescence intensity of the dynamic biocarrier at the nM range (1–100 nM, R 2 = 0.99), also demonstrating excellent selectivity and sensitivity, with a detection limit as low as 0.05 nM. Consequently, the developed dynamic biocarriers, which combine the appealing features of GQDs (e.g., water solubility, fluorescent activity, and supramolecular π-stacking interactions) with the autonomous mobility of MRs, present themselves as potential autonomous micromachines to be exploited as highly efficient and sensitive “on-the-fly” biosensing systems. This method is general and can be simply customized by tailoring the biomarker anchored to the GQD–MR’s surface.
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ISSN:1944-8244
1944-8252
DOI:10.1021/acsami.3c09920