Dehury, S. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2025

Discovery of a DNA-based Optical Nanotube Sensor for Glucose Using Clustering and Deep Learning Algorithms

Glucose sensing is vital for managing diabetes. However, current sensors are invasive and secrete enzymatic byproducts that are inflammatory and toxic. Though DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes (DNA-SWCNTs) emit fluorescence that is ideal for enzyme-free optical sensing, existing approaches have yet to identify a DNA sequence that can elicit a fluorescence response to glucose. We develop an approach based on clustering to design a diverse library of 90 DNA sequences to screen for a glucose response. The most responsive sequence was further improved based on favorable mutations predicted by deep learning and pattern recognition. This combination of experimental screening and supervised and unsupervised machine learning represents a generalizable approach to developing DNA-SWCNT sensors for even the most elusive analytes. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=186 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/652529v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (78K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e01org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1977c45org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@5fc0e2org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@70763f_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2024

Covalent conjugation of glucose oxidase on single-walled carbon nanotubes for glucose sensing

Glucose sensing and monitoring are crucial for biological and medical applications. Compared to existing methods, real-time detection and long-term monitoring are still required. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have excellent optical properties for sensing applications, which provide the possibility for designing a new generation of glucose sensors. In this study, we describe a method for covalently conjugate glucose oxidase (GOx) on SWCNTs as an optical glucose sensor. The functional groups are introduced by a photocatalytic reaction which acts as the handle for protein loading on SWCNTs. In this sp3 defect reaction, the optical properties of SWCNTs can be maintained. With a convenient bioconjugation reaction, the GOx could be covalently linked with SWCNTs. Compared to the non-covalent immobilization conjugates, the covalent conjugate sensor exhibits a much stronger optical response toward glucose, and the stability of the biosensor also increases in harsh conditions. At the same time, we also report the changing ratio of the original E11 and defected E11* peak during the bioconjugation reaction, which is also inspiring for reaction monitoring on SWCNTs. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=75 SRC="FIGDIR/small/618143v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (17K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e1ef8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@11354d7org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@2717cforg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@8c57bd_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

bioengineering↗