Colorimetric detection of microRNA miR-21 based on nanoplasmonic core–satellite assembly

Abstract

In order to detect microRNAs (miRNAs), we developed a colorimetric sensing method on the basis of the plasmonic coupling effect. Gold nanoplasmonic particles (GNPs) are assembled in a core-satellite configuration in the presence of target miRNA, inducing remarkable changes in the scattering color and spectra at the picomolar level with selectivity.