Fluid Multivalent Recognition Accelerating and Boosting Upconversion Luminescence-Activated DNA Nanomachines for Rapid and Sensitive In Vivo Imaging

By integrating near-infrared (NIR) light-dependent optical control and DNA walkers-based signal amplification, upconversion luminescence-activated DNA nanomachines hold great potential in conducting an in vivo analysis. For the typical DNA nanomachines, the immobile multivalent recognition interface greatly compromised the reaction kinetics and amplification efficiency due to the cleavage-dependent response mode. In this work, novel upconversion luminescence-activated DNA nanomachines with a fluid multivalent recognition interface were reported for rapid and sensitive in vivo imaging. As a proof-of-concept study, the photolocked DNAzyme-based walker system was anchored on the surface of phospholipid membrane-coated upconversion nanoparticles through the cholesterol–phospholipid interaction to acquire a fluid multivalent recognition interface. Upon sequential inputs of NIR light and metal ions, the formed DNA nanomachines were autonomously initiated and generated a cascade of amplified signal. Relative to the typical DNA nanomachines, the proposed ones possess an accelerated reaction rate and an improved amplification capability owing to a higher local concentration by the lateral mobility. The present work provides a versatile alternative for performing precise and highly efficient in vivo analysis.