At 麻豆原创, researchers are developing a new approach inspired by squids, octopuses and other cephalopods, one that doesn鈥檛 wait for targets to arrive, but actively reaches out to capture them. Led by , a professor in 麻豆原创鈥檚 , the work introduces a DNA-based system designed to capture target molecules more efficiently by extending into the surrounding solution.

鈥淥ne of the biggest challenges in biosensing is something surprisingly simple: molecules take time to move,鈥� Kolpashchikov says. 鈥淚magine trying to catch fish in a huge lake with a tiny net, most fish will never come close enough to be caught. Traditional sensors work the same way: they passively wait for target molecules (analytes) to randomly bump into them.鈥�

The project, supported by a $272,000 award from the U.S. National Science Foundation, reframes how biosensors operate, shifting from passive detection toward active engagement.

Targeting Molecules Through DNA

Conventional biosensors rely on diffusion, meaning target molecules must randomly move through a solution before encountering a sensing surface. This process, known as mass transport limitation, can slow detection and limit performance in time-sensitive applications.

Kolpashchikov鈥檚 approach addresses this constraint by incorporating nanostructures composed of DNA strands that extend outward from the sensor. These flexible extensions function like molecular tentacles, weakly interacting with passing targets and increasing the likelihood that they will be captured.

Rather than waiting for signals to arrive, the system draws them closer.

Speeding Detection

The speed at which a sensor can detect its target is often as important as detection sensitivity and specificity. In contexts such as medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring and food safety, delays can reduce reliability or limit usefulness altogether.

By increasing the rate at which target molecules are gathered and concentrated near the sensing surface, the DNA cephalopod approach may enable faster, more responsive detection systems, particularly in applications that depend on real-time or near-real-time analysis.

鈥淪low sensors can miss short-lived biological signals, allow samples to degrade, and delay responses to threats,鈥� Kolpashchikov says, 鈥淔aster detection reduces costs (less time, fewer reagents), improves accuracy, and enables real-time monitoring 鈥� something essential for healthcare, environmental safety, and biosecurity.鈥�

DNA as Structure and Sensor

The system uses DNA not only as a recognition element but also as a structural material. Engineered strands extend from the sensor into the surrounding environment, forming a dynamic interface that interacts with nearby molecules.

These extensions do not bind targets permanently at first. Instead, they weakly capture and release them, effectively increasing the local concentration of target molecules near the sensor鈥檚 core detection region. This process improves detection efficiency without requiring additional mechanical or chemical input.

By designing DNA nanostructures that actively interact with nearby molecules, the system creates a sensing environment that is more responsive and efficient.

鈥淒NA is uniquely suited for building nanoscale machines,鈥� Kolpashchikov says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 programmable, predictable and relatively inexpensive.鈥�

In this system, DNA strands self-assemble into a structure resembling a microscopic octopus, what the team calls聽 a 鈥溾�楧NA cephalopod.鈥�.鈥� A central sensor is surrounded by long, flexible 鈥溾�榯entacles鈥濃�� that extend into the solution. Each tentacle carries weak binding sites that briefly capture target molecules and pass them along from one site to the next, guiding them toward the center, where the sensor binds them more strongly and triggers detection.

Applications Across Fields

The improved speed and sensitivity of this approach expand the potential use of biosensors across multiple domains.

Possible applications include rapid detection of harmful bacteria in water and food systems, early-stage diagnosis through identification of DNA or RNA biomarkers, and forensic analysis requiring precise detection of biological material

By enabling sensors to detect smaller quantities of target molecules more quickly, the technology may support more timely and accurate decision-making in both clinical and field settings.

鈥淭he potential applications are broad: rapid disease diagnostics, including early cancer detection, and real-time monitoring of pathogens in water and food. Perhaps most exciting is that this is a general strategy. The same 鈥榯entacle鈥� concept could be applied for detection of proteins and small biological molecules.鈥� 鈥� Dmitry Kolpashchikov, professor of chemistry, 麻豆原创 College of Sciences

鈥淭his approach could dramatically improve how we detect biological molecules,鈥� Kolpashchikov says. 鈥淭he potential applications are broad: rapid disease diagnostics, including early cancer detection, real-time monitoring of pathogens in water and food. Perhaps most exciting is that this is a general strategy. The same 鈥榯entacle鈥� concept could be applied for detection of proteins and small biological molecules.鈥�

A New Method of Rapid Analyte Detection

As with many emerging technologies, translating laboratory advances into real-world systems presents challenges. Performance in complex environments, where multiple substances interact simultaneously, remains an area for further study.

Scaling the technology and integrating it into existing diagnostic platforms will also be critical steps in determining its broader applicability.

Rather than treating biosensing as a passive process governed by chance encounters, Kolpashchikov鈥檚 work suggests a different model, one in which sensors actively engage with their environment, reaching into the surrounding space to capture what drifts.

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Award No. 2555933. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Molden began working in Assistant Professor Dmitry Kolpashchikov鈥檚 lab, where research is focused on biochemistry of nucleic acids, DNA and RNA. Many research projects in the group are dedicated to development of sensors for detection of DNA and RNA targets. Kolpashchikov had an idea to develop a sensor that would be based on the change of solution into gel state, rather than color change, and he asked if anyone in the lab would be up for trying to get his idea to work. Previous students had tried, but had given up.

Molden, however, decided to take this project on.

鈥淚 kept trying, because there wasn鈥檛 any reason why it wouldn鈥檛 work,鈥漵aid Molden, who cracked the code.

Most current tests rely on colors to show a positive or negative result, which can鈥檛 be performed by colorblind people or while in the dark. The new way of DNA detection that Molden developed will give users the result in the form of gel 鈥� so people will be able to feel the result, not rely only on a color.

Their research was published in聽Chemistry Communications聽and took聽the cover of the journal. In addition, it was highlighted by,聽Chemistry World,聽a monthly chemistry news magazine published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

鈥淭he only drawback to this type of testing is that you need more DNA than conventional tests, but we are going to work on that,鈥� Molden said. 鈥淲e can try amplification of DNA or RNA, to get the quantity necessary for the test. I think next we will try to detect viral viruses like Zika or influenza using our technology.鈥�

For a chemistry Ph.D. student, Molden had an interesting start. When she lived in Russia, she went to school for journalism and found herself at movie premieres interviewing and mingling with the stars. After moving to the United States in 2006, she decided to go back to school but for something completely different: science.

鈥淚 always like science so I started taking classes at Daytona State,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 got really good at chemistry and loved it, and people were always asking me if I was a chemistry major.鈥�

Molden transferred to 麻豆原创, undecided whether she would continue to pursue chemistry or go for biomedical sciences. She happened to take Kolpashchikov鈥檚 class, where she discovered her passion for biochemistry and received an award for outstanding biochemistry student of the year.

鈥淚t was clear to me that biochemistry was the right choice,鈥� she said.

Molden contributes her success to finding an advisor early on in her career. She says students should start their research early, and to ask professors about their lab work, and find a good fit.

Many of the grants, worth $7.2 million total, address challenges of national and global scale. Some smaller grants support promising new technology or potential discoveries that could lead to new treatments, such as a potential malaria-fighting drug made from marine microbes.

Here are some of the funded projects:

Tuberculosis ($429,000)

Typically, getting a diagnosis of tuberculosis takes time. A culture must be taken and usually sent to a lab for confirmation, and that means lots of time without treatment. The scenario is worse in remote regions of the world, where test results could take several weeks or months.

The goal is to enhance efforts to control the spread of tuberculosis. TB is a global health crisis which kills 2 million people each year because of a lack of an effective vaccine, emerging drug resistance, limited treatment options, and inadequate diagnostic tools.

Dmitry Kolpashchikov in 麻豆原创鈥檚 chemistry department, Kyle Rohde at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at the 麻豆原创 medical school and partners in Germany are using their grant to develop a novel diagnostic tool that is accurate and quick, giving a medical professional results within 30 minutes.

鈥淭he inability to reliably detect active TB cases and rapidly determine drug susceptibility profiles in many high-incidence settings severely compromises the treatment and control of this disease,鈥� Kolpashchikov said.

HIV-1 ($436,000 grant)

Alexander Cole, a professor in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, leads a team that is developing a way to use inexpensive and widely available antibiotics called aminoglycosides to restore the production of a potent human protein called retrocyclin. This protein prevents HIV-1 infection.

Humans early on were able to produce retrocyclin, but a mutation in one of our genes suppresses its production. By using aminoglycosides, the team has been able to boost the ability of the gene to begin producing the protein again.聽 The $436,000 grant will help the team continue its study.

鈥淏eing able to naturally bolster human鈥檚 ability to prevent HIV transmission could be extremely beneficial in limiting the global spread of HIV,鈥� Cole said.

Schizophrenia ($404,000 grant)

Associate professor Jeffrey Scott Bedwell is leading a group that is attempting to understand the underlying brain abnormalities and causes of schizophrenia. Many believe that like autism, schizophrenia may be an umbrella term that describes a range of disorders. Schizophrenia also has also been linked to early visual processing abnormalities, but very little is understood about that link.

鈥淭he proposed study will examine whether there are specific clusters of schizophrenia-related symptoms that relate to specific early visual processing abnormalities,鈥� Bedwell said in his research proposal. 鈥淭he results from this study will have strong potential to uncover new schizophrenia subtypes, thereby facilitating the search for more effective treatments and prevention programs.鈥�

Bedwell is part of the clinical psychology PhD program in the department of psychology and runs the Psychophysiology of Mental Illness Laboratory. His study will also look at the effect red light has on some patients with schizophrenia.

Spinal Reflex Arc ($388,000)

Professor James Hickman and his team at the NanoScience Technology Center are engineering a system model of one of the most fundamental motor circuits in the human body, the spinal reflex arc.

鈥淲e will use nanotechnology and microelectronics in combination with biomedical engineering techniques to build this hybrid biological/non-biological system,鈥� Hickman said in his proposal. 鈥淧otential benefits include learning enough to prevent, diagnose and treat developmental abnormalities in the spinal cord, rehabilitation of chronic neurological muscle disorders and new strategies for prosthetic and orthotic design and evaluation.鈥�

This technology has the potential to streamline the drug development process, accelerating the transition rate of compounds from laboratory to clinical environments.

鈥淲e hope that in time this work will help to develop advanced treatments for people suffering from severe peripheral neuropathies such as Lou Gehrig鈥檚 Disease and Myasthenia Gravis, and will have far reaching implications for the effective study of many human diseases in vitro,鈥� he added.

Rural Health Clinics and Healthcare ($378,000)

Judith Ortiz, a research associate professor at the College of Health and Public Affairs, leads a group that is examining health care delivered by Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to older adults in the Southeastern U.S.

The team is analyzing several factors, including the participation of RHCs in Accountable Care Organizations, which impact patient outcomes and cost efficiency of RHCs.聽 The eight study states (Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina , North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky) have many vulnerable populations 鈥� all have a higher percentage of persons in poverty, seven of them have a higher percentage of rural populations, and more than half of them have a higher percentage of persons aged 65 and over.

The study aims to provide information to assist policy leaders in making decisions that will strengthen the health care safety net in rural America.

鈥淚 am passionate about the benefits of primary health care and its emphasis on prevention of illness,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淚 am motivated to contribute to the improvement of health care delivery systems in rural areas where there is a growing need for improving health conditions and health care resources.鈥�