The invention develops a self-driving and self-catalyzing method for detecting
microRNA-21 (miR-21) on the basis of a three-legged
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) nano
machine. If a sample to be detected contains miR-21, the miR-21 can open an arm 1 of the three-legged
DNA nano
machine through a proximity effect, and the arm 1 and a nearby arm 2 form
a DNA enzyme structure. The
DNA enzyme can
cut a substrate chain on the arm 2, the DNA arm 2 exposed after
cutting is dissociated to compete with the arm 3, and
a DNA fragment (sequence Q) marked with a
quenching group is generated to leave the DNA nano-
machine, so that a
fluorescence signal is recovered. Meanwhile, the released sequence Q can catalyze the next self-driven and self-catalyzed circular reaction of the three-legged DNA nano machine. The component with close space positioning is constructed on a single
DNA nanostructure, so that the local reactant concentration and the
reaction rate are remarkably improved. And the
fluorescence signal and the miR-21 have a
linear relationship between the concentration of 10 pM and 50 nM. Compared with a
free diffusion reactant, the effective concentration of the reactant is greatly increased. Therefore, the incubation time is obviously shortened to 35 minutes. The strategy has important significance in the aspect of providing reference value for miRNA detection and
disease diagnosis.