Fluorescent Metal-Organic Frameworks-Assisted Multiplexed MicroRNA Biosensor for Precise Identification of Colorectal Cancer
摘要
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a gastrointestinal malignancy with high morbidity and mortality rates. Timely and effective early diagnosis is crucial for improving the survival rate of CRC patients. However, current histopathological biopsy techniques are not only invasive but also fail to fully capture the biological characteristics and dynamic changes of CRC, making them ineffective for early identification. Since dysregulated microRNA (miRNA) signatures are associated with various diseases, including cancers, miRNA analysis in liquid biopsies offers a promising approach for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring. Nonetheless, single biomarker profiling is no longer sufficient to meet the specificity required for early CRC screening. It is expected that multiple miRNA analyses will enable both early CRC identification and dynamic monitoring. In this work, we synthesized a fluorescent metal-organic framework (UiO-66-NH2) with desirable optical properties and successfully developed a ratiometric fluorescence sensor. This method enabled the highly sensitive and precise simultaneous quantification of CRC-related miRNA-21, miRNA-17 and miRNA-92a. It has also shown excellent performance in clinical samples. The integrated detection of multiple CRC-related miRNAs enhanced data accuracy through unique probe designs, offering significant potential for widespread applications.