Zhenglin Yang

TL;DR: This work re-port CRISPR-Cas12a sensors that are regulated by functional DNA (fDNA) molecules such as aptamers and DNAzymes that are selective for small organic molecule and metal ion detections that are suitable for field tests or point-of-care diagnostics.

TL;DR: A Zn2+-specific near-infrared (NIR) DNAzyme nanoprobe is reported for real-time metal ion tracking with spatiotemporal control in early embryos and larvae of zebrafish and gives insights into the dynamical Zn 2+ ion distribution in intracellular and in vivo models.

TL;DR: The DNAzyme-based sensors allow for in vitro selection to expand the method to almost any metal ion under a variety of conditions, negative selection to improve the selectivity against competing targets, and reselection of DNAzymes and combination of active and inactive variants to fine-tune the dynamic range of detection.

TL;DR: The endogenous and bioorthogonal activation of a DNAzyme fluorescent sensor containing an 18-base pair recognition site of a homing endonuclease is reported, demonstrating the use of I- Sce I to activate the 10-23 DNAzyme for imaging of Mg 2+ in HeLa cells with biorthogonal and endogenous control.

TL;DR: The use of Mg2+-specific 10-23 or Zn2-specific 8-17 RNA-cleaving DNAzymes to regulate the expression of fluorescent proteins as a new class of ratiometric fluorescent sensors for metal ions is reported, allowing this class of sensors to be even more powerful in providing deeper understanding of the roles of metal ions in biology.