Enzyme-free dual-amplification strategy for the rapid, single-step detection of nucleic acids based on hybridization chain reaction initiated entropy-driven circuit reaction

•This two-layer nucleic acid circuit exhibits excellent sensitivity and selectivity.•The approach only requires simple one-step reaction without the involvement of any enzymes.•The developed homogeneous dual-amplification strategy can be performed in 45 min.•The developed method can be applied to complex sample matrix with satisfied results.