Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 28 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY-NCNanoscale advances

Nanomaterial-enabled methods for nucleic-acid sensing: biorecognition, transduction, comparative evidence, and translational considerations

  • Firdous Ahmad Deader1,2
  • Anas Alazzam3,2
  • Halima Alnaqbi4,5
  • Moh'd Rezeq1
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Physics, Khalifa University of Science and Technology Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
  2. 2Microfluidics Lab, Khalifa University of Science and Technology Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
  3. 3Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
  4. 4Department of Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
  5. 5Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Early and accurate detection of nucleic acids, particularly DNA, is central to modern diagnostics, environmental surveillance, and biomedical research. Nanomaterial-enabled nucleic-acid biosensors exploit nanoscale physicochemical properties, including high surface-area-to-volume ratio, tunable optical responses, enhanced electron transfer, magnetic enrichment, and catalytic activity, to improve sensitivity, selectivity, response time, and device miniaturization. This review examines nanomaterial-enabled DNA and RNA sensing, distinguishing recognition, amplification, and reporting functions. The principal biorecognition elements, including enzymes, antibodies, nucleic-acid probes, aptamers, and peptides, are discussed, followed by transduction strategies such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, amperometric, potentiometric, field-effect, conductometric, and impedimetric electrochemical biosensors, and electrical immunosensors. The roles of key nanomaterials, including gold nanoparticles, iron oxide nanoparticles, quantum dots, and graphene, are reviewed as signal-amplification and transduction components. Representative studies are evaluated in terms of limit of detection, linear range, selectivity, and clinical applicability. Because assay conditions differ among studies, reported detection limits are considered together with the sample matrix, amplification method, and validation approach. Particular emphasis is placed on linking material properties, recognition chemistry, and readout mechanisms to practical diagnostic performance. Finally, current challenges, multiplexed quantification, clinical translation, and emerging nanofabrication strategies for next-generation biosensors for point-of-care use are highlighted. This article is a critical narrative review; the databases, exact search strings, eligibility criteria, screening procedure and record counts used to assemble the surveyed corpus are reported, and a study-level inventory is provided in the SI.

Related

  1. Retinoic acid signaling in growth plate development: receptor-specific effects, antagonist evidence, and pediatric translational considerations.
    Yutong Xing, Ruiying Fan, Kaixi Wang +3
    Frontiers in endocrinologyPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textMolecular biology & gene regulationEurope PMCCrossref
  2. Comparative S-acyl-proteomics reveals post-translational modulation of fungal purine metabolism for Verticillium wilt
    Chi Li, Wenyang Zhang, Shuaifei Cui +10
    PLOS PathogensPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEnzymology & metabolismPlant biologyPLOSPMC
  3. AI-integrated nanomaterial-based biosensors for biomedical diagnostics: engineering design, signal processing, and clinical translation.
    Chandrashekar Thalluri, Sarad Pawar Naik Bukke, Jharna Medhi +6
    Biomedical engineering onlinePeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDFull text2 citedMolecular biology & gene regulationEurope PMCDOAJ
  4. Nanomaterial-enabled RNA therapeutics: bridging delivery barriers to clinical translation
    Kshipra Pandey, Sneha Jha, Loka Bikash Chaliha +2
    Frontiers in NanotechnologyPeer-reviewedCC BY6 citedMolecular biology & gene regulationOpenAlex
  5. Conformational dynamics of an intrinsically disordered receptor enable signal transduction
    Y. Myokan, H. Zhang, T. Hongu +8
    bioRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textBiophysicsbioRxiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{deader2026nanomaterialenabled,
  title = {{Nanomaterial-enabled methods for nucleic-acid sensing: biorecognition, transduction, comparative evidence, and translational considerations}},
  author = {Firdous Ahmad Deader and Anas Alazzam and Halima Alnaqbi and Moh'd Rezeq},
  journal = {Nanoscale advances},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1039/d6na00687f},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13673238},
  note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Nanomaterial-enabled methods for nucleic-acid sensing: biorecognition, transduction, comparative evidence, and translational considerations
AU  - Firdous Ahmad Deader
AU  - Anas Alazzam
AU  - Halima Alnaqbi
AU  - Moh'd Rezeq
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/16
JO  - Nanoscale advances
DO  - 10.1039/d6na00687f
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13673238
AB  - Early and accurate detection of nucleic acids, particularly DNA, is central to modern diagnostics, environmental surveillance, and biomedical research. Nanomaterial-enabled nucleic-acid biosensors exploit nanoscale physicochemical properties, including high surface-area-to-volume ratio, tunable optical responses, enhanced electron transfer, magnetic enrichment, and catalytic activity, to improve sensitivity, selectivity, response time, and device miniaturization. This review examines nanomaterial-enabled DNA and RNA sensing, distinguishing recognition, amplification, and reporting functions. The principal biorecognition elements, including enzymes, antibodies, nucleic-acid probes, aptamers, and peptides, are discussed, followed by transduction strategies such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, amperometric, potentiometric, field-effect, conductometric, and impedimetric electrochemical biosensors, and electrical immunosensors. The roles of key nanomaterials, including gold nanoparticles, iron oxide nanoparticles, quantum dots, and graphene, are reviewed as signal-amplification and transduction components. Representative studies are evaluated in terms of limit of detection, linear range, selectivity, and clinical applicability. Because assay conditions differ among studies, reported detection limits are considered together with the sample matrix, amplification method, and validation approach. Particular emphasis is placed on linking material properties, recognition chemistry, and readout mechanisms to practical diagnostic performance. Finally, current challenges, multiplexed quantification, clinical translation, and emerging nanofabrication strategies for next-generation biosensors for point-of-care use are highlighted. This article is a critical narrative review; the databases, exact search strings, eligibility criteria, screening procedure and record counts used to assemble the surveyed corpus are reported, and a study-level inventory is provided in the SI.
SN  - 2516-0230
ER  -