Monitoring of microRNA using Molecular Beacons Approaches: Recent Advances

Abstract Micro ribose nucleic acid (miRNA) recognition is of remarkable significance in the investigation of its functions as well as diagnosis of various diseases. The significance of miRNA itself is owing to the complex regulatory roles in several physiological processes and its close association with important diseases such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and different kinds of cancers. On the other hand, there are numerous challenges to conquer in the recognition of miRNA, consisting of low abundance, varied concentration range, small size, prolonged extraction process from cells and sequence resemblances. Traditional approaches for miRNA recognition do not meet the present demands; therefore, several fast and effective strategies have been developed with a superior focus on specificity and sensitivity such as molecular beacon (MB) probes. These probes have been widely used for miRNA monitoring with high sensitivity both in living cells and in vitro. Compared to other systems, such as qRT-PCR, studies demonstrated that MB probes can be applied as effective equipment for assaying miRNAs by taking their advantages e.g. good specificity, short hybridization period, and easy operation. Therefore, this review highlights astonishing abilities and structure of MBs and their principle. Also, the use of atomic thickness nanomaterials such as quantum dots, molybdenum disulfide, and molybdenum carbide are introduced. Moreover, new advances in developing MB approaches that are able to trace miRNA in living cells and in vivo are discussed.