Fabrication of the nanogapped gold nanoparticles film for direct electrical detection of DNA and EcoRI endonuclease

DNA-templated copper nanoparticles for voltammetric analysis of endonuclease activity

A voltammetric sensor for the detection of endonuclease activity is constructed based on DNA-templated copper nanoparticles.

Gold nanoparticle wires for sensing DNA and DNA/protein interactions

The discontinuous Vertical Evaporation-driven Colloidal Deposition (dVECD) method has been used as a green technique for formatting nanoparticle wires by the direct deposition of nanoparticles from colloid suspensions onto hydrophilic substrates, without any lithographic procedures. Gold nanoparticles of different sizes are deposited into wire arrays for electronic detection of biological molecules. A sensitive detection of DNA molecules as low as ∼1 pM is achieved due to a high surface to volume ratio of the porous structures. The effects of the gold nanoparticles' size, DNA concentration, and DNA length on detection sensitivity of these gold nanoparticle wire sensors are discussed. Moreover, we can also detect the interaction between DNAs and proteins. Gold nanoparticle wires prepared by the nontoxic and simple dVECD are promising for detecting viruses involved in diseases.

Nanomaterial-assisted signal enhancement of hybridization for DNA biosensors: a review

Detection of DNA sequences has received broad attention due to its potential applications in a variety of fields. As sensitivity of DNA biosensors is determined by signal variation of hybridization events, the signal enhancement is of great significance for improving the sensitivity in DNA detection, which still remains a great challenge. Nanomaterials, which possess some unique chemical and physical properties caused by nanoscale effects, provide a new opportunity for developing novel nanomaterial-based signal-enhancers for DNA biosensors. In this review, recent progress concerning this field, including some newly-developed signal enhancement approaches using quantum-dots, carbon nanotubes and their composites reported by our group and other researchers are comprehensively summarized. Reports on signal enhancement of DNA biosensors by non-nanomaterials, such as enzymes and polymer reagents, are also reviewed for comparison. Furthermore, the prospects for developing DNA biosensors using nanomaterials as signal-enhancers in future are also indicated.