Application of catalytic hairpin assembly reaction in liquid biopsy

Liquid biopsies enable noninvasive and dynamic analysis of cellular and extracellular vesicle biomarkers. The catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) provides an enzyme-free isothermal amplification technique characterized by high catalytic efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity. It holds significant potential for non-invasive, cost-effective, and straightforward detection of tumor biomarkers, offering versatile signal output modalities such as fluorescence, electrochemical, and colorimetric methods. CHA signal amplification technique has potential to detect tumor biomarkers with non-invasive, low-cost, highly sensitive and highly specific advantages. Herein, the varied CHA mechanisms, hairpin probe designs, and reaction conditions are introduced in detail. Additionally, biosensors based on CHA for the early detection of cancer biomarkers are presented. Finally, some views on the challenges and prospects of CHA in the field of biosensing are also considered.