Tune, Extend, and Narrow the Useful Dynamic Range of Cell‐Free Transcription Biosensors Through Programmable DNA‐Based Stem‐Loop Hairpin Reporters

-fold coverage. We also demonstrate two-step dynamic responses by mixing hairpin reporters with highly distinct affinities. Finally, integration of signaling and non-signaling stem-loop reporters allowed us to compress the dynamic range of a model transcription biosensor to as little as three-fold enabling heightened sensitivity. Overall, this modular framework enables the customization of cell-free transcription biosensor sensitivity and response profiles, overcoming key limitations inherent to single-site transcriptional reporter designs.