Chimeric DNA-Functionalized Titanium Carbide MXenes for Simultaneous Mapping of Dual Cancer Biomarkers in Living Cells

MXenes, thereby resulting in an increase in red fluorescence; and the hybridization of miR-21 with the hairpin probe triggers the increase of green fluorescence. As a result, dual analysis of MUC1 and miR-21 at low-nanomolar concentrations in vitro, as well as in situ simultaneous imaging of the biomarkers within MCF-7 breast cancer cells, was achieved. The feasibility of the nanoprobe was further demonstrated by monitoring the expression changes of both the biomarkers in cancer cells under different inhibitor combinations. Therefore, this strategy allows us to acquire the expression levels and spatial distributions of different biomarkers in living cells, providing a helpful tool for reliable diagnosis of cancers and basic understanding their progression.