A DNAzyme-powered cross-catalytic circuit for amplified intracellular imaging

A facile cross-catalytic circuit is engineered for intracellular microRNA (miRNA) imaging by facilely integrating a catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) amplifier and DNAzyme biocatalyst through an ingenious feedback loop. These two indispensable catalytic reactions play vital roles in executing high-performance signal amplification, as demonstrated experimentally and theoretically. A heterogeneously cross-catalytic CHA-DNAzyme circuit that integrates built-in molecule-recognition and signal-amplification is assembled through a feedback loop.