Graphene oxide-based qRT-PCR assay enables the sensitive and specific detection of miRNAs for the screening of ovarian cancer

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have the potential to become reliable and noninvasive biomarkers for ovarian cancer (OC) diagnosis; however, the conventional miRNAs detection techniques exhibit enduring limitations of low sensitivity and specificity. Graphene oxide (GO), a novel nanomaterial, is at the forefront of material design for extensive biomedical applications. Owing to the excellent water affinity and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) adsorption characteristics of GO, we designed and developed a GO-based qRT-PCR assay for the detection of miRNAs associated with OC. In the GO-based qRT-PCR system, GO could significantly improve the sensitivity and specificity of the qRT-PCR assay by noncovalently interacting with primers and ssDNA and reducing the occurrence of non-specific amplification. Moreover, the detection of miRNAs associated with OC confirmed that GO-based qRT-PCR assay could differentiate benign ovarian tumors from OC (sensitivity, 0.91; specificity, 1.00). Collectively, these findings provide robust evidence that GO-based qRT-PCR assay can be effectively used as a promising method to detect miRNAs for the screening of OC patients.