Invasive RNA Programs Optical Switching in DNA Nanoclusters for CRISPR Sensing.
- 1Department of Chemistry, University at Albany, State University of New York, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York12222, United States.
- 2The RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York12222, United States.
Abstract
DNA-templated silver nanoclusters have regained attention due to recent advances in stability and tunable optical properties. Here, we report a highly regulated DNA-templated silver nanocluster (DFN2) that exhibits strong fluorescence at 561 nm and enables reversible, label-free fluorescence switching governed by nucleic acid hybridization. The fluorescence of DFN2 is efficiently quenched with complementary DNA or RNA and fully restored through invading RNA strand mediated displacement, enabling robust and programmable ON-OFF-ON optical control. We integrated this hybridization-responsive platform with CRISPR-Cas12a to construct a target-activated biosensing system. Upon recognition of a conserved genomic fragment from a foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, the activated Cas12a cleaves a regulator DNA, initiating a cascade of hybridization and strand-displacement reactions that restore nanocluster fluorescence through an invasive RNA. This strategy exhibits high specificity against conserved genomic regions from other foodborne pathogens. These findings establish DFN2 as programmable, enzyme-responsive optical reporters for rapid, sensitive, and modular point-of-care biosensing.
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BibTeX
@article{gold2026invasive,
title = {{Invasive RNA Programs Optical Switching in DNA Nanoclusters for CRISPR Sensing.}},
author = {Reggie Gold and Yusha Imtiaz and Vinod Morya and Ken Halvorsen and Emmett Hanson and Mehmet V Yigit},
journal = {Nano letters},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c01946},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915359},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Invasive RNA Programs Optical Switching in DNA Nanoclusters for CRISPR Sensing.
AU - Reggie Gold
AU - Yusha Imtiaz
AU - Vinod Morya
AU - Ken Halvorsen
AU - Emmett Hanson
AU - Mehmet V Yigit
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Nano letters
DO - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c01946
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915359
AB - DNA-templated silver nanoclusters have regained attention due to recent advances in stability and tunable optical properties. Here, we report a highly regulated DNA-templated silver nanocluster (DFN2) that exhibits strong fluorescence at 561 nm and enables reversible, label-free fluorescence switching governed by nucleic acid hybridization. The fluorescence of DFN2 is efficiently quenched with complementary DNA or RNA and fully restored through invading RNA strand mediated displacement, enabling robust and programmable ON-OFF-ON optical control. We integrated this hybridization-responsive platform with CRISPR-Cas12a to construct a target-activated biosensing system. Upon recognition of a conserved genomic fragment from a foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, the activated Cas12a cleaves a regulator DNA, initiating a cascade of hybridization and strand-displacement reactions that restore nanocluster fluorescence through an invasive RNA. This strategy exhibits high specificity against conserved genomic regions from other foodborne pathogens. These findings establish DFN2 as programmable, enzyme-responsive optical reporters for rapid, sensitive, and modular point-of-care biosensing.
SN - 1530-6984
SN - 1530-6992
ER -