Rolling Circle Amplification Integrating with Exonuclease-III-Assisted\nColor Reaction for Sensitive Telomerase Activity Analysis

Telomerase activation\ncan lead to the escape from cell senescence\nand immortalization, playing a crucial role in the growth and proliferation\nof cancer cells. Therefore, the detection of telomerase activity is\nessential for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Herein, we develop a\nnovel ultrasensitive and visually detectable platform. By incorporation\nof exonuclease-III (Exo-III), this platform achieves dual signal amplification\nof rolling circle amplification products. Additionally, the colorimetric\nanalysis of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbiphenyl (TMB) chromogenic\nreaction system provides this approach with unique advantages such\nas simplicity, speediness, and sensitivity. The detection platform\nexhibits high sensitivity and specificity in actual sample testing,\nwhich aligns closely with results obtained using commercial kits.\nMoreover, it offers ease-of-use through visual determination by the\nnaked eyes. This finding indicates that our proposed sensing method\nperforms satisfactorily in detecting telomerase in real biological\nsamples. Henceforth, we believe that this sensing platform holds great\npotential for clinical diagnosis and anticancer drug development.