An electrochemiluminescence microsensor based on DNA-silver nanoclusters amplification for detecting cellular adenosine triphosphate.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), as the primary energy source, plays vital roles in many cellular events. Developing an efficient assay is crucial to rapidly evaluate the level of cellular ATP. A portable and integrated electrochemiluminescence (ECL) microsensor array based on a closed bipolar electrode (BPE) was presented. In the BPE unit, the ECL chemicals and oxidation/reduction were separated from the sensing chamber. The ATP aptamer was assembled with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in the sensing chamber. ATP capture made the aptamer disassemble from the ssDNA and facilitated DNA-templated silver nanocluster (Ag NC) generation by the target-rolling circle amplification (RCA) reaction. The guanine-rich padlock sequence produced tandem periodic cytosine-rich sequences by the RCA, inducing Ag NC generation in the cytosine-rich region of the produced DNA strands through Ag+ reduction. The in situ Ag NC generation enhanced the circuit conductivity of the BPE and promoted the ECL reaction of [Ru(bpy)2dppz]2+/tripropylamine in the anodic reservoir. On this ECL microsensor, a good linear relationship of ATP was achieved ranging from 30 to 1000 nM. The ATP content in HepG2 cells was selectively and sensitively determined without complex pretreatment. The ATP amount of 25 cells could be successfully detected when a sub-microliter sample was loaded.