Tayyab M, Barrett D, van Riel G, Liu S, Reinius B, Scharfe C, Griffin P, Steinmetz LM, Javanmard M, Pelechano V
Sci Adv 9 (36) eadi4997 [2023-09-08; online 2023-09-06]
Fast and accurate detection of nucleic acids is key for pathogen identification. Methods for DNA detection generally rely on fluorescent or colorimetric readout. The development of label-free assays decreases costs and test complexity. We present a novel method combining a one-pot isothermal generation of DNA nanoballs with their detection by electrical impedance. We modified loop-mediated isothermal amplification by using compaction oligonucleotides that self-assemble the amplified target into nanoballs. Next, we use capillary-driven flow to passively pass these nanoballs through a microfluidic impedance cytometer, thus enabling a fully compact system with no moving parts. The movement of individual nanoballs is detected by a change in impedance providing a quantized readout. This approach is flexible for the detection of DNA/RNA of numerous targets (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, HIV, β-lactamase gene, etc.), and we anticipate that its integration into a standalone device would provide an inexpensive (<$5), sensitive (10 target copies), and rapid test (<1 hour).
PubMed 37672583
DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adi4997
Crossref 10.1126/sciadv.adi4997