Detection of pathogenic nucleic acids remains one of the most reliable approaches for the diagnosis of a broad range of diseases. Current PCR-based methods require experienced personnel and cannot be easily used for point-of-care diagnostics, making alternative strategies for the sensitive, reliable, and cost-efficient detection of pathogenic nucleic acids highly desirable. Here, we report an enzyme-free method for the fluorometric detection of RNA that relies on a target-induced fluorophore transfer onto a semiconductor quantum dot (QD), uses PNA probes as selective recognition elements and can be read out with simple and inexpensive equipment. For QD-PNA conjugates with optimized PNA content, limits of detection of dengue RNA in the range of 10 pM to 100 nM can be realized within 5 h in the presence of a high excess of noncomplementary RNA.

Targeted extrahepatic delivery of siRNA remains a challenging task in the field of nucleic acid therapeutics. An ideal delivery tool must internalize siRNA exclusively into the cells of interest without affecting the silencing activity of siRNA. Here, we report the use of anti-EGFR Nanobodies (trademark of Ablynx N.V.) as tools for targeted siRNA delivery. A straightforward procedure for site-specific conjugation of siRNA to an engineered C-terminal cysteine residue on the Nanobody (trademark of Ablynx N.V.) is described. We show that siRNA-conjugated Nanobodies (Nb−siRNA) retain their binding to EGFR and enter EGFR-positive cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis. The activity of Nb−siRNAs was assessed by measuring the knockdown of a housekeeping gene (AHSA1) in EGFR-positive and EGFR-negative cells. We demonstrate that Nb− siRNAs are active in vitro and induce mRNA cleavage in the targeted cell line. In addition, we discuss the silencing activity of siRNA conjugated to fused Nbs with various combinations of EGFR-binding building blocks. Finally, we compare the performance of Nb−siRNA joined by four different linkers and discuss the advantages and limitations of using cleavable and noncleavable linkers in the context of Nanobody-mediated siRNA delivery.

Cell analysis techniques like flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy are widely used to explore cells in real-time and provide important insights into a variety of cellular processes. These techniques require bright and specific staining reagents to generate strong fluorescence signal and enable reliable readout, making the choice of fluorescent labels a key aspect of experimental design. Much research has been done in the field of fluorophore development to generate bright small-mole-cule dyes, fluorescent proteins, and emitting nanoparticles. However, it remains challenging to modify biomolecules with multiple emitters and avoid self-quenching of such fluorophores at the same time. Herein, we present advances in multimerization-based methods for the generation of fluorescent labels with high brightness and discuss their advantages and limitations in the context of flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy applications.

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