Aversatile MOF as an electrochemical/fluorescence/colorimetric signal probe for the tri-modal detection of MMP-9 secretion in the extracellular matrix to identify the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs.

Background: MMP-9 plays a crucial role in regulating the degradation of proteins within the extracellular matrix (ECM). This process closely correlates with the occurrence, development, invasion, and metastasis of various tumors, each exhibiting diverse levels of MMP-9 expression. However, the accuracy of detection results using the single-mode method is compromised due to the coexistence of multiple biologically active substances in the ECM.
Results: Therefore, in this study, a tri-modal detection system is proposed to obtain more accurate information by cross-verifying the results. Herein, we developed a tri-modal assay using the ZIF-8@Au NPs@S QDs composite as a multifunctional signal probe, decorated with DNA for the specific capture of MMP9. Notably, the probe demonstrated high conductivity, fluorescence response and mimicked enzyme catalytic activity. The capture segments of hybrid DNA specifically bind to MMP9 in the presence of MMP9, causing the signal probe to effortlessly detach the sensor interface onto the sample solution. Consequently, the sensor current performance is weakened, with the colorimetric and fluorescent signals becoming stronger with increasing MMP9 concentration. Notably, the detection range of the tri-modal sensor platform spans over 10 orders of magnitude, verifying notable observations of MMP-9 secretion in four tumor cell lines with chemotherapeutic drugs. Furthermore, the reliability of the detection results can be enhanced by employing pairwise comparative analysis.
Significance: This paper presents an effective strategy for detecting MMP9, which can be utilized for both the assessment of MMP-9 in cell lines and for analyzing the activity and mechanisms involved in various tumors.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Zihua Wang reports financial support was provided by Doctoral Scientific Research Start-up Foundation from Henan University of Technology and Scientific Research and Experimental Development (R&D) of Zhengzhou. Shuoye Yang reports financial support was provided by Key R&D and Promotion projects of Henan Province. Lu Zhang reports financial support was provided by the innovative Funds Plan of Henan University of Technology. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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