Sea Anemone-like Nanomachine Based on DNA Strand Displacement Composed of Three Boolean Logic Gates: Diversified Input for Intracellular Multitarget Detection

Abstract

Efficient and accurate acquisition of cellular biomolecular information is crucial for exploring cell fate, achieving early diagnosis, and the effective treatment of various diseases. However, current DNA biosensors are mostly limited to single-target detection, with few complex logic circuits for comprehensive analysis of three or more targets. Herein, we designed a sea anemone-like DNA nanomachine based on DNA strand displacement composed of three logic gates (YES-AND-YES) and delivered into the cells using gold nano bipyramid carriers. The AND gate activation depends on the trigger chain released by upstream DNA strand displacement reactions, while the output signal relies on the downstream DNAzyme structure. Under the influence of diverse inputs (including enzymes, miRNA, and metal ions), the interconnected logic gates simultaneously perform logical analysis on multiple targets, generating a unique output signal in the YES/NO format. This sensor can successfully distinguish healthy cells from tumor cells and can be further used for the diagnosis of different tumor cells, providing a promising platform for accurate cell-type identification.