Liposome fusion assisted delivery of silica nanoquenchers for rapid detection of exosomal MicroRNAs

Analysis of exosome information in bodily fluids is an important priority in liquid biopsy. Exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) have been increasingly identified as credible objects due to their high stability and abundance. However, traditional detection techniques for exosomal miRNAs consume considerable time and require abundant professional equipment. Herein, we introduced a novel silica nanoquencher (qSiNP)-based nanoplatform with liposomal shell encapsulation. Liposomes were demonstrated to efficiently deliver qSiNPs into tumor exosomes via membrane fusion pathways. Subsequent loading of qSiNPs with fluorophore-labeled antisense oligonucleotides rapidly resulted in a specific fluorescent signal for “off-on” switchable in situ detection and imaging of targeted exosomal miRNAs without complicated RNA extraction or targeted amplification. With this strategy, the distinction of tumor-related miRNAs from normal exosomes was successfully achieved, which further indicated that our platform has the merits of easy preparation, stable encapsulation, efficient uptake, and an alterable molecular beacon, for improving the diagnostic value of liquid biopsy in various cancer diseases.