Cancer is recognized as a serious health challenge both in the United States and throughout the world. While early detection and diagnosis of cancer leads to decreased mortality rates, current screening methods require significant time and costly equipment. Recently, increased levels of certain micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) in the blood have been linked to the presence of cancer. While blood-based biomarkers have been used for years in cancer detection, studies analyzing trace amounts of miRNAs in blood and serum samples are just the beginning. Recent developments in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) nanotechnology and DNA computing have shown that it is possible to construct nucleic-acid-based chemical networks that accept miRNAs as inputs, perform Boolean logic functions on those inputs, and generate as an output a large number of DNA strands that can be readily detected. Since miRNAs occur in blood in low abundance, these networks would allow for amplification without using polymerase chain reaction. In this study, we report initial progress in the development of a DNA-based cross-catalytic network engineered to amplify specific cancer-related miRNAs. Subcomponents of the DNA network were tested individually, and their operation in serum, as well as a mixture of serum with sodium dodecyl sulfate, is demonstrated. Preliminary simulations of the full cross-catalytic network indicate successful operation.

中文翻译：

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血清和血清-SDS 中 DNA 和 RNA 杂交的动力学

癌症在美国和全世界都被认为是一种严重的健康挑战。虽然癌症的早期检测和诊断可降低死亡率，但目前的筛查方法需要大量时间和昂贵的设备。最近，血液中某些微核糖核酸 (miRNA) 水平的增加与癌症的存在有关。虽然基于血液的生物标志物已在癌症检测中使用多年，但分析血液和血清样品中痕量 miRNA 的研究才刚刚开始。脱氧核糖核酸 (DNA) 纳米技术和 DNA 计算的最新发展表明，可以构建接受 miRNA 作为输入的基于核酸的化学网络，对这些输入执行布尔逻辑功能，并生成大量易于检测的 DNA 链作为输出。由于 miRNA 以低丰度存在于血液中，这些网络将允许在不使用聚合酶链反应的情况下进行扩增。在这项研究中，我们报告了开发基于 DNA 的交叉催化网络的初步进展，该网络旨在扩增特定的癌症相关 miRNA。DNA 网络的子组件分别进行了测试，并证明了它们在血清以及血清与十二烷基硫酸钠的混合物中的操作。完整的交叉催化网络的初步模拟表明运行成功。我们报告了开发基于 DNA 的交叉催化网络的初步进展，该网络旨在扩增特定的癌症相关 miRNA。DNA 网络的子组件分别进行了测试，并证明了它们在血清以及血清与十二烷基硫酸钠的混合物中的操作。完整的交叉催化网络的初步模拟表明运行成功。我们报告了开发基于 DNA 的交叉催化网络的初步进展，该网络旨在扩增特定的癌症相关 miRNA。DNA 网络的子组件分别进行了测试，并证明了它们在血清以及血清与十二烷基硫酸钠的混合物中的操作。完整的交叉催化网络的初步模拟表明运行成功。