MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in post-transcriptional gene expression and freely circulate in the body. Dysregulation of miRNA signaling is associated with various diseases, including breast cancer (BC). The miRNA profiles from liquid biopsies offer a promising strategy for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring. Particularly, the simultaneous profiling of multiple miRNA levels greatly enhances the accuracy of cancer diagnosis. In this study, photonic crystals (PhCs) serve as both labels and carriers enabling synchronous optical detection of multiple miRNA targets overexpressed in BC. The process is achieved by triggering enzyme-free amplification reactions through target interactions, generating fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The method offers high sensitivity, sequence specificity, and the capability to detect multiple targets. The limits of detection (LOD) of the sensor for miRNA-21, miRNA-155 and miRNA-10b were 6.36 fM, 8.52 fM and 6.06 fM, respectively. Moreover, the sensor can be directly applied to untreated human serum with a minimal sample volume requirement of only 1 μL. The simultaneous detection of miRNAs in clinical serum samples from healthy individuals and BC patients was carried out. The results show that the average relative expression levels of miRNA-21, miRNA-155 and miRNA-10b in the BC patient group were 12.18 ± 3.20, 17.27 ± 2.17 and 12.17 ± 1.59 times that of the healthy group, respectively. Therefore, the developed multi-detection strategy can precisely identify these cancer biomarkers and offer a crucial pathway for minimally invasive cancer diagnostics, cancer prevention, early intervention and treatment.

中文翻译：

---

荧光共振能量转移系统与光子晶体标记策略耦合，用于乳腺癌 microRNA 的多重检测


MicroRNA （miRNA） 在转录后基因表达中起着至关重要的作用，并在体内自由循环。miRNA 信号转导失调与多种疾病有关，包括乳腺癌 （BC）。液体活检的 miRNA 谱为癌症诊断、预后和监测提供了一种有前途的策略。特别是，同时分析多个 miRNA 水平大大提高了癌症诊断的准确性。在本研究中，光子晶体 （PhC） 既是标记物又是载体，能够同步光学检测在 BC 中过表达的多个 miRNA 靶标。该过程是通过靶标相互作用触发无酶扩增反应，产生荧光共振能量转移 （FRET） 来实现的。该方法具有高灵敏度、序列特异性和检测多个靶标的能力。传感器对 miRNA-21 、 miRNA-155 和 miRNA-10b 的检测限 （LOD） 分别为 6.36 fM 、 8.52 fM 和 6.06 fM。此外，该传感器可直接应用于未经处理的人血清，样品体积要求仅为 1 μL。同时检测健康个体和 BC 患者临床血清样本中的 miRNA。结果显示，BC患者组miRNA-21、miRNA-155和miRNA-10b的平均相对表达水平分别为健康组的12.18±3.20、17.27±2.17和12.17±1.59倍。因此，开发的多重检测策略可以精确识别这些癌症生物标志物，并为微创癌症诊断、癌症预防、早期干预和治疗提供关键途径。