Morphological and Mechanical Characterization of DNA SAMs Combining Nanolithography with AFM and Optical Methods

The morphological and mechanical properties of thiolated ssDNA films self-assembled at different ionic strength on flat gold surfaces have been investigated using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). AFM nanoshaving experiments, performed in hard tapping mode, allowed selectively removing molecules from micro-sized regions. To image the shaved areas, in addition to the soft contact mode, we explored the use of the Quantitative Imaging (QI) mode. QI is a less perturbative imaging mode that allows obtaining quantitative information on both sample topography and mechanical properties. AFM analysis showed that DNA SAMs assembled at high ionic strength are thicker and less deformable than films prepared at low ionic strength. In the case of thicker films, the difference between film and substrate Young’s moduli could be assessed from the analysis of QI data. The AFM finding of thicker and denser films was confirmed by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) analysis. SE data allowed detecting the DNA UV absorption on dense monomolecular films. Moreover, feeding the SE analysis with the thickness data obtained by AFM, we could estimate the refractive index of dense DNA films.

A sensitive DNA biosensor based on a facile sulfamide coupling reaction for capture probe immobilization

A novel DNA biosensor was fabricated through a facile sulfamide coupling reaction. First, the versatile sulfonic dye molecule of 1-amino-2-naphthol-4-sulfonate (AN-SO3(-)) was electrodeposited on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to form a steady and ordered AN-SO3(-) layer. Then the amino-terminated capture probe was covalently grafted to the surface of SO3(-)-AN deposited GCE through the sulfamide coupling reaction between the amino groups in the probe DNA and the sulfonic groups in the AN-SO3(-). The step-by-step modification process was characterized by electrochemistry and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Using Ru(NH3)6(3+) as probe, the probe density and the hybridization efficiency of the biosensor were determined to be 3.18×10(13) strands cm(-2) and 86.5%, respectively. The hybridization performance of the biosensor was examined by differential pulse voltammetry using Co(phen)3(3+/2+) (phen=1,10-phenanthroline) as the indicator. The selectivity experiments showed that the biosensor presented distinguishable response after hybridization with the three-base mismatched, non-complementary and complementary sequences. Under the optimal conditions, the oxidation peak currents of Co(phen)3(3+/2+) increased linearly with the logarithm values of the concentration of the complementary sequences in the range from 1.0×10(-13)M to 1.0×10(-8)M with a regression coefficient of 0.9961. The detection limit was estimated to be 7.2×10(-14)M based on 3σ.