Abstract

Nanosensing by oligonucleotide optical switches coupled to nanoparticles is a highly promising and fascinating strategy for the intracellular detection of a plethora of targets, such as specific mRNA molecules and proteins. The use of an antisense oligonucleotide molecular beacon, able to generate a fluorescent signal when it hybridizes with the target mRNA, may represent an innovative strategy that conjugates the ability of sensing specific mRNA with the pharmacological silencing activity, preventing the overexpression of proteins associated to phatological conditions. In cancer research, this pharmacological approach has emerged.

© 2015 IEEE