A small sensor can be used to quickly detect RNA and DNA

In less than a second, a small sensor used in brain chemistry research can detect the key molecules that provide the genetic guidance for life, RNA, and DNA, a new study from the University of America shows.

AU researchers believe that a sensor is a useful tool for scientists engaged in clinical research to measure DNA metabolism, and that the sensor could be a quick fix for laboratory clinicians distinguish between ‘healthy’ and ‘sick’ samples and determine whether there is a fungal, bacterial, or viral pathogen, before further analysis.

To investigate the detection of the RNA and DNA sensors, Alexander Zestos, an associate professor of chemistry, joined John Bracht, an associate professor of biology, to test a new way to detect RNA and DNA . Both professors are part of the AU Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, which brings together researchers from a variety of fields to study the brain and its role in behavior.

Modern electricity measures RNA and DNA

The sensors, also known as carbon fiber microelectrodes, allow researchers like Zestos to accurately measure chemicals in the brain. Researchers can learn more about the brain’s complex circulation of neural pathways and neurotransmitters, chemicals in the brain that deliver messages in a specific pathway.

Zestos and Bracht used a standard carbon fiber microelectrode with fast-scan circular voltammetry, the same type of sensor used to detect dopamine in the brain. Zestos ’work often involves the use of sensors to detect and measure dopamine in the brain, as the neurotransmitters are involved in a wide range of activity in the nervous system, from body movements to emotional responses.

The researchers modified the sensor with special electricity. They weren’t sure it would work, and were surprised when the electricity, or waveform, discovered oxidative peaks of adenosine and guanosine, two of the building blocks of DNA. The detection time is fast, occurring in less than a second. Research methods have been tested using both animal and synthetic RNA and DNA.

Search engine and pre-diagnostics

In short, Bracht and Zestos believe the tool is useful in clinical research. Researchers using the tool could obtain useful information about nucleic acids and measure the relative ratios of adenosine, guanosine, and cytidine, another DNA nucleobase.

Approximately the size of strands of human hair, the sensor is small enough to be inserted into cells, tissues, or living organisms. The sensor can detect DNA or RNA in any fluid sample, including droplets of fluid, saliva, blood or urine.

The sensor can also be used as a pre-diagnosis. The onset of disease or fungal infection can lead to a rapid increase in nuclear acid, which the sensor can measure, and possibly predict rapid disease, the researchers said. It can take up to a day or more for test results for coronavirus, for example.

Electrochemical sensors can be used to evaluate samples before order-based methods. We can look at a number of cases where it is clinically useful to quickly measure DNA or RNA in a sample before ordering them. For example, it may be used when there are a large number of samples for rapid analysis before more extensive testing. “

John Bracht, Associate Professor of Biology, University of America

One common limitation is that the sensor needs to detect more than just the strands of DNA and RNA. To detect a specific virus or for a genetic test, the sensor must detect a virus gene sequence.

The next step in the search is to further change the sensor to see if the sensor can detect viruses. The sensor may have a number of applications for which further research is needed, including within forensic science and other areas where sensors have a prominent place.

“We’ve also wondered if we can measure DNA metabolism within brains and living cells,” Bracht said. “We could use one electrode to measure neurotransmitters like dopamine and also measure real-time DNA and RNA and their building blocks in the brain.”