Fluorescent polymeric transducer for the rapid, simple, and specific detection of nucleic acids at the zeptomole level

We report the specific detection of a few hundred molecules of genetic material using a fluorescent polythiophene biosensor. Such recognition is based on simple electrostatic interactions between a cationic polymeric optical transducer and the negatively charged nucleic acid target and can be done in less than 1 h, simply and affordably, and without any chemical reaction. This simple system is versatile enough to detect nucleic acids of various lengths, including a segment from the RNA genome of the Influenza virus.