Dna conformational switches as sensitive electronic sensors of analytes
First Claim
1. An analyte sensor comprising:
- a) a first oligonucleotide stem;
(b) a second oligonucleotide stem; and
(c) a receptor site capable of binding said analyte, wherein said receptor site is operatively connected to said first oligonucleotide stem and said second oligonucleotide stem, wherein said sensor is alterable between a first conformational state substantially impeding charge transfer between said first and second stems and a second conformational state permitting charge transfer between said first and second stems, wherein said sensor switches between said first conformational state and said second conformational state when said analyte binds to said receptor site.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The electrical conductivity of DNA and other oligonucleotide constructs is dependent on its conformational state. Such a dependence may be harnessed for the electronic sensing of external analytes, for instance, adenosine. Such a DNA sensor incorporates an analyte receptor, whose altered conformation in the presence of bound analyte switches the conformation, and hence, the conductive path between two oligonucleotide stems, such as double-helical DNA. Two distinct designs for such sensors are described that permit significant electrical conduction through a first or “detector” double-helical stem only in the presence of the bound analyte. In the first design, current flows through the analyte receptor itself whereas, in the second, current flows in a path adjacent to the receptor. The former design may be especially suitable for certain categories of analytes, including heterocycle-containing compounds such as adenosine, whereas the latter design should be generally applicable to the detection of any molecular analyte, large or small. Since analyte detection in these DNA sensors is electronic, the potential exists for their application in rapid and automated chip-based detection of small molecules as well as of proteins and other macromolecules.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. An analyte sensor comprising:
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a) a first oligonucleotide stem;
(b) a second oligonucleotide stem; and
(c) a receptor site capable of binding said analyte, wherein said receptor site is operatively connected to said first oligonucleotide stem and said second oligonucleotide stem, wherein said sensor is alterable between a first conformational state substantially impeding charge transfer between said first and second stems and a second conformational state permitting charge transfer between said first and second stems, wherein said sensor switches between said first conformational state and said second conformational state when said analyte binds to said receptor site. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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31. A sensor for detecting first and second analytes comprising:
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(a) a first oligonucleotide stem;
(b) a second oligonuleotide stem;
(c) a first receptor site capable of binding said first analyte; and
(c) a-second receptor site capable of binding said second analyte, wherein said first and second receptor sites are operatively connected to said first and second oligonucleotide stems, wherein said sensor is alterable between a first conformational state substantially impeding charge transfer between said first and second stems and a second conformational state permitting charge transfer between said first and second stems, wherein said sensor switches between said first conformational state and said second conformational state when said first analyte binds to said first receptor site and said second analyte concurrently binds to said second receptor site.
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Specification