Biosensors & bioelectronicsFeb 18, 2026

Sensitive detection of kidney injury marker KIM-1 using a dual sensor with CRISPR and nanozyme for predicting kidney transplant outcomes

CRISPR Gene Editing Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Feb 19, 2026

Abstract

Detection limits of 58.7 pg/mL for colorimetric and 34.4 pg/mL for fluorometric methods have been achieved for kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1).

A new biosensing platform combines aptamer recognition, CRISPR trans-cleavage, and nanozyme amplification for KIM-1 detection.
The system uses a high-affinity aptamer for specific recognition of KIM-1, enabling enhanced detection capabilities.
When KIM-1 is present, it inhibits the activity of the CRISPR/Cas12a system, leading to the release of nanozymes that produce colorimetric and fluorescent signals.
The developed aptasensor shows reliable accuracy with average relative deviations of -2.7% for colorimetric and 3.2% for fluorometric methods compared to commercial ELISA kits.
The platform successfully tracks changes in urinary KIM-1 concentrations over the first 8 days after renal transplantation.

Simplified

Kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) has emerged as a pivotal prognostic biomarker for renal allograft function. However, its detection remains challenging due to sensitivity and accuracy limitations. An innovative biosensing platform synergizing aptamer recognition, CRISPR trans-cleavage and nanozyme amplification for dual-readout KIM-1 detection has been presented in this work. This platform employs a meticulously selected high-affinity aptamer with capillary electrophoresis SELEX for specific target recognition, leverages the CRISPR/Cas12a system for signal transduction and cascade amplification, and utilizes engineered FeNi MOF@AgNPs nanozyme for dual-signal output. With the presence of KIM-1, whose binding with aptamer, effectively inhibits the trans-cleavage activity of the CRISPR/Cas12a system, and uninhibited Cas12a subsequently cleaves nanozyme-conjugated magnetic probes, releasing FeNi MOF@AgNPs nanozymes that catalyze a TMB-based reaction to generate intense colorimetric and fluorescent dual-readout signals. The as developed aptasensor demonstrates satisfied sensitivity achieving detection limits of 58.7 pg/mL (colorimetric) and 34.4 pg/mL (fluorometric), and dependable accuracy achieving average relative deviation of -2.7% (colorimetric) and 3.2% (fluorometric) with commercial ELISA kit in urine samples from patients with acute kidney injury. Moreover, longitudinally track the dynamic changes in urinary KIM-1 concentrations over the first 8 days following renal transplantation was successfully realized. This work not only provides a robust analytical tool for KIM-1 detection but also establishes a generic research approach for extending CRISPR-based systems to the precise detection of proteins.

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Competing interests

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

PubMed

Sensitive detection of kidney injury marker KIM-1 using a dual sensor with CRISPR and nanozyme for predicting kidney transplant outcomes

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

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