The AnalystJan 30, 2026

A highly sensitive biosensor for detecting hypochlorous acid using an oxidative cleavage and CRISPR-based method

CRISPR Gene Editing Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Feb 1, 2026

Abstract

A novel biosensor enables highly sensitive detection of hypochlorous acid (HClO) in environmental samples.

Hypochlorous acid is associated with respiratory irritation and tissue damage in humans.
Excessive HClO presence poses risks to aquatic ecosystems, potentially leading to biodiversity loss.
The biosensor employs a dual-lock switch mechanism for selective detection of HClO.
HClO cleaves a specific DNA hairpin structure, triggering a chain reaction that produces detectable signals.
The system's design minimizes nonspecific activation, enhancing both sensitivity and specificity for HClO detection.

Simplified

Hypochlorous acid (HClO) is a critical disinfectant in public health and water treatment, yet its excessive presence in environmental matrices poses significant risks to human health (, respiratory irritation, tissue damage) and aquatic ecosystems (, biodiversity loss). Herein, we developed an oxidative cleavage-based hybridization chain reaction (HCR)-CRISPR/Cas12a biosensor for highly sensitive detection of HClO. The sensor utilizes a dual-lock switch mechanism: HClO selectively cleaves a phosphorothioated (PS) DNA hairpin (Lock 1), releasing an initiator strand to trigger the HCR and generate PAM-containing long dsDNA. Simultaneously, the locked crRNA (L-crRNA), which is caged by a PS-modified silent chain (Lock 2), can be released when the PS-modified silent chain is degraded under HClO incubation, allowing the activated crRNA to dynamically regulate Cas12a-crRNA complex formation. Then, HCR-dsDNA activates Cas12a's-cleavage activity, enabling fluorescence signal readoutreporter DNA cleavage. The dual-lock strategy minimizes nonspecific activation in CRISPR/Cas12a systems, significantly enhancing sensitivity and specificity. Our work establishes a robust platform for environmental pollutant monitoring, with applications in water safety assessment and food quality control. e.g. e.g. trans via

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A highly sensitive biosensor for detecting hypochlorous acid using an oxidative cleavage and CRISPR-based method

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