Electrochemistry Communications
Electrochemistry Communications
5 years ago

Label-free detection of canonical DNA bases, uracil and 5-methylcytosine in DNA oligonucleotides using linear scan voltammetry at a pyrolytic graphite electrode

Label-free detection of canonical DNA bases, uracil and 5-methylcytosine in DNA oligonucleotides using linear scan voltammetry at a pyrolytic graphite electrode
An innovative approach to label-free voltammetric analysis of DNA at a pyrolytic graphite electrode (PGE) within a broad range of potentials (from −2.0 to +1.6V) in an acetate buffer (pH5) is presented. Using specifically designed DNA nonamers, we demonstrate not only anodic oxidation, but for the first time also cathodic reduction of nucleobases at the PGE. In addition, products of irreversible oxidation/reduction of the parent bases are shown to yield analytically useful, base-specific cathodic/anodic signals, making it possible to distinguish between the canonical bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine), uracil (U) and 5-methylcytosine (mC) in DNA. Furthermore, selective electrochemical “switching off” of the redox signals specific to certain nucleobases is presented as a way to resolve overlapping signals. Similarly, newly reported signals corresponding to electrochemically transformed bases can be “switched on” under specific conditions. This approach can be utilized for fast and facile simultaneous label-free analysis of bases in DNA, including mC and U, and to uncover overlapping signals. This significantly extends the possible applications of PGE in DNA research and (bio)sensor development.

Publisher URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science

DOI: S1388248117301960

You might also like
Discover & Discuss Important Research

Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.

  • Download from Google Play
  • Download from App Store
  • Download from AppInChina

Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.