Nanoparticle

Chemistry

Materials science

Cancer cell

Molecular biology

Bioconjugation

Cancer research

Biochemistry

Nanoprobe

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

MUC1

Biology

Gene

Biophysics

Fluorescence in situ hybridization

Cell biology

Cancer

Cancer biomarkers

Aptamer

Mucin

MXenes

Chromosome

Genetics

Analytical Chemistry

Acquiring multilayer information on diverse biomarkers with different spatial distributions at the cellular level is crucial for monitoring the progression of cancers. Herein, a dual-signal-tagged chimeric DNA-functionalized titanium carbide MXenes nanoprobe (dcDNA–Ti3C2) that responds to biomarkers with different cellular locations from plasma membrane to cytoplasm was designed toward this end. In the presence of cancer biomarkers, including transmembrane glycoprotein mucin 1 (MUC1) and cytoplasmic microRNA-21 (miR-21), the recognition between MUC1 and its aptamer in the dcDNA–Ti3C2 probe induces the separation of TAMRA–MUC1 aptamer from Ti3C2 MXenes, thereby resulting in an increase in red fluorescence; and the hybridization of miR-21 with the hairpin probe triggers the increase of green fluorescence. As a result, dual analysis of MUC1 and miR-21 at low-nanomolar concentrations in vitro, as well as in situ simultaneous imaging of the biomarkers within MCF-7 breast cancer cells, was achieved. The feasibility of the nanoprobe was further demonstrated by monitoring the expression changes of both the biomarkers in cancer cells under different inhibitor combinations. Therefore, this strategy allows us to acquire the expression levels and spatial distributions of different biomarkers in living cells, providing a helpful tool for reliable diagnosis of cancers and basic understanding their progression.

Chimeric DNA-Functionalized Titanium Carbide MXenes for Simultaneous Mapping of Dual Cancer Biomarkers in Living Cells