Molecular structure and thermodynamic predictions to create highly sensitive microRNA biosensors.Many studies have established microRNAs (miRNAs) as post-transcriptional regulators in a variety of intracellular molecular processes.  Here we designed reporter+probe biosensors for miR-26a-2-3p and miR-27a-5p to better understand the effect of thermodynamics and molecular structures of the biosensor constituents on the analytical performance.  Theoretical thermodynamic values, single stranded conformations, hetero- and homodimerization structures, and equilibrium concentrations of the reporters and probes were used to interpret the experimental observations. 
THERM