ABSTRACT
Biomolecules such as nucleic acids and proteins provide valuable building material for nanoengineering complex structures with atomic precision. In particular, DNA and/or protein constructs combined with enzymes that covalently modify these have proven useful as probes for high-performance molecular detection reaction in biomedical research and diagnostics. In this chapter, we describe some mechanisms in use in biomolecular detection reactions and, in particular, focus on some approaches being explored in our laboratory for detection at the ultimate level of single molecules in biological samples.
