Functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes for direct and selective electrochemical detection of DNA

Analyst. 2011 Mar 7;136(5):1023-8. doi: 10.1039/c0an00486c. Epub 2010 Dec 17.

Abstract

We report here a new strategy to graft both redox and DNA probes on carbon nanotubes to make a label-free DNA sensor. Oxidized single-walled carbon nanotubes are first immobilized on a self-assembled monolayer of cysteamine; then the redox probe, a quinone derivative 3-[(2-aminoethyl)sulfanyl-5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone], is grafted on the free carboxylic groups of the nanotubes. After that, for DNA probe grafting, new carboxylic sites are generated via an aryl diazonium route. After hybridization with a complementary sequence, the conformational changes of DNA could influence the redox kinetics of quinone, leading to a current increase of the redox signal, detected by square wave voltammetry. The system is selective, as it can discriminate a single mismatched sequence from the complementary one.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cysteamine / chemistry
  • DNA / analysis*
  • DNA Probes / analysis
  • DNA Probes / chemistry
  • Electrochemical Techniques / methods*
  • Electrodes
  • Gold / chemistry
  • Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
  • Nucleic Acid Hybridization / methods*
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Quinones / chemistry

Substances

  • DNA Probes
  • Nanotubes, Carbon
  • Quinones
  • Cysteamine
  • Gold
  • DNA