Silicon Nanowire Biosensor for Ultrasensitive and Label-Free Direct Detection of miRNAs

TL;DRAbstract

MicroRNA (miRNA), a large and growing class of 18-24-nucleotide long, noncoding RNA molecules in all known animal and plant genomes, is a key player in gene regulation. The functions of miRNA are yet to be understood with respect to how and where it is produced and the changes within an organism associated with variations in miRNA expression level. The expression profiles serve as molecular diagnostics for diseases and new targets in drug discovery. Consequently, highly sensitive and selective detection of miRNA is playing a significant role in understanding miRNA functions. Existing major methods of detecting miRNA are dependent on hybridization, in which a target miRNA molecule is hybridized to a complementary probe molecule. Recently developed detection methods introduce nanomaterials to the hybridized duplex to enhance the sensitivity. However, all of them are indirect, involving labeling or conjugating process. To overcome the above-mentioned issues, we have demonstrated a highly

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