Dancing in local space: rolling hoop orbital amplification combined with local cascade nanozyme catalytic system to achieve ultra-sensitive detection of exosomal miRNA

The exosomal miRNA (exo-miRNA) derived from tumor cells contains rich biological information that can effectively aid in the early diagnosis of disease. However, the extremely low abundance imposes stringent requirements for accurate detection techniques. In this study, a novel, protease-free DNA amplification strategy, known as “Rolling Hoop Orbital Amplification” (RHOA), was initially developed based on the design concept of local reaction and inspired by the childhood game of rolling iron ring. Benefiting from the local space constructed by the DNA orbital, the circular DNA enzyme rolls directionally and interacts efficiently with the amplification element, making it nearly 3-fold more productive than conventional free-diffusion amplification. Similarly, the localized cascade nanozyme catalytic system formed by bridging DNA probes also exhibits outperformed than free ones. Therefore, a localized energized high-performance electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor was constructed by bridging cascading nanozymes on the electrode surface through DNA probes generated by RHOA, with an impressive limit of detection (LOD) of 1.5 aM for the detection of exosomal miRNA15a-5p and a stable linearity over a wide concentration range from 10(− 2) to 10(8) fM. Thus, this work is a focused attempt at the localized reaction, which is expected to provide a reliable method for accurately detecting of exo-miRNAs. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-022-01568-6.