A photo-elutable 8–17 DNAzyme labeling and PCR-free colorimetric quantification strategy for 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in mammalian genomic DNA†

Abstract

We developed a PCR-free, cost-effective colorimetric assay using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to quantify 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) without expensive MS instruments or antibodies. This method employs a photo-elutable 8–17 DNAzyme label specific to 5hmC sites, achieving accuracy comparable to ELISA when measuring 5hmC levels in various ICR mouse tissues.