Our laboratory has developed novel DNA-based "fluorescence nanobarcodes" that can rapidly identify multiple pathogens simultaneously in a single assay. These DNA nanobarcodes are formed from branched DNA via a novel self-assembly process. Each DNA nanobarcode carries a unique fluorescence color ratio – for example, 1 green dye and 2 red dyes (1G2R), or 4 green dyes and 1 red dye (4G1R). This allows us to distinguish among a large number of different targets using only two colors. Since our nanobarcodes are made entirely from DNA, they can be easily interfaced with biological systems. For instance we can use DNA nanobarcodes to detect pathogen biomarkers in order to diagnose infectious diseases.

DNA nanobarcodes are formed via a novel self-assembly process. Each DNA nanobarcode carries a unique fluorescence color ratio to identify a specific pathogen biomarker.