Amplified FRET Nanoflares: An Endogenous mRNA‐Powered Nanomachine for Intracellular MicroRNA Imaging

Abstract

Abstract It is of great value to detect biological molecules in live cells. However, probes for imaging low‐abundance targets in live cells are limited by the one‐to‐one signal‐triggered model. Here, we introduce the concept of the amplified FRET nanoflare, which employs high‐abundance endogenous mRNA as fuel strands to amplify the detection of low abundance intracellular miRNA. As far as we know, this is the first report of an endogenous mRNA‐powered nanomachine for intracellular molecular detection. We experimentally prove the mechanism of the nanomachine and demonstrate its specificity and sensitivity. The proposed amplified FRET nanoflare can act as an excellent intracellular molecular detection strategy that is promising for biological and medical applications.