A hyperbranched transcription-activated CRISPR-Cas12a signal amplification strategy for sensitive microRNA sensing

A CRISPR-Cas12a-based strategy is developed towards sensitive microRNA sensing, in which the hyperbranched rolling circle amplification and transcription are integrated for the activation of the trans-cleavage ability of Cas12a. The integrated triplex signal amplification endows the strategy with low background and high sensitivity. This design expands the scope of CRISPR-Cas-based sensing toolbox and shows great potential in the biological and biomedical studies.