Unamplified and Label-Free Detection of HPV16 DNA Using CRISPR-Cas12a-Functionalized Solution-Gated Graphene Transistors.

Abstract

The persistent infection of high-risk-human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) is considered an essential element for suffering cervical cancer. Despite polymerase chain reaction, loop-mediated amplification, and microfluidic chips are used to detect the HPV16, these methods still exist some drawbacks including time-consuming and false positive results. The CRISPR-Cas system is widely used in the region of biological detection due to its precise targeted recognition capability. In this contribution, the novel solution-gated graphene transistor sensor is designed to realize the unamplified and label-free detection of HPV16 DNA. Using the precise recognition of the CRISPR-Cas12a system and the gate functionalization, HPV16 DNA can be precisely identified without need the amplification and labeling. The limit of detection of the sensor can be up to 8.3 × 10^-18  m and the detection can be within 20 min. Additionally, the heat-Inactivated clinical samples can be clearly distinguished by the sensor the diagnosis results have a high degree of agreement with q-PCR detection.