Design of a highly sensitive and specific nucleotide sensor based on photon upconverting particles.

We have designed and developed a novel sensor that reports the presence of specific nucleic acids in solutions, based on photon upconverting particles. The significantly high signal-to-noise ratio of photon upconverting particles leads to high sensitivity of the sensor. The sensor does not suffer from photobleaching. It also displays high specificity and self-calibrating capability. We expect nucleotide sensors of this type to be effective for applications in both DNA/RNA detection and protein-DNA/RNA interaction studies.