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Sensors and Materials, Volume 37, Number 11(1) (2025)
Copyright(C) MYU K.K.
pp. 4871-4889
S&M4219 Research Paper
https://doi.org/10.18494/SAM5876
Published: November 7, 2025

Ultrasensitive Detection of Dam Methyltransferase Based on DNA Tetrahedral Multi-toehold Dumbbells Coupled with Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/Cas12a System [PDF]

Yuqi Huang, Changlong He, Shijia Ding, Huacui Huang, Zhousong Xu, Xiaoying Yang, Dan Wu, Zhongping Chen, and Mingjun Zhang

(Received September 1, 2025; Accepted October 6, 2025)

Keywords: DNA methylation, Dam MTase, DNA tetrahedron, dumbbell ring, CRISPR/Cas12a, fluorescent biosensor

DNA methylation is critical for biological processes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; its aberrations are tightly linked to the onset and progression of numerous diseases. As a key epigenetic component, it also sustains normal human cell function, regulates gene imprinting, and participates in oncogenesis. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-based systems (e.g., CRISPR-Cas12a) are programmable and sensitive, making them valuable for biosensors—Cas12a exhibits unique trans-cleavage activity, randomly cleaving ambient single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) upon activation by target DNA. On the basis of this, we developed a sensitive assay for DNA methyltransferase (MTase) activity using the CRISPR-Cas system, employing a DNA tetrahedron with four dumbbell-ring-containing corners. In this assay, Dam MTase modifies the N6 position of adenine in the GATC sequence; the modified sequence is then cleaved by DpnⅠ restriction endonuclease and associates with CRISPR-Cas12a. The exposed ssDNA activates Cas12a, which cleaves a fluorescent ssDNA probe to generate a signal—Dam MTase concentration is quantified via fluorescence intensity. This method detects Dam MTase in human serum, screens its inhibitor 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and shows high sensitivity/specificity [linear range 0.01–1 U/mL (R2 = 0.99715), limit of detection 0.001 U/mL]. It holds promise for early cancer diagnosis and clinical applications, representing a valuable research direction for related studies.

Corresponding author: Zhongping Chen and Mingjun Zhang


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Cite this article
Yuqi Huang, Changlong He, Shijia Ding, Huacui Huang, Zhousong Xu, Xiaoying Yang, Dan Wu, Zhongping Chen, and Mingjun Zhang, Ultrasensitive Detection of Dam Methyltransferase Based on DNA Tetrahedral Multi-toehold Dumbbells Coupled with Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/Cas12a System, Sens. Mater., Vol. 37, No. 11, 2025, p. 4871-4889.



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