A bimetallic nanocomposite electrode for direct and rapid biosensing of p53 DNA plasmid

Abstract

A new label-free electrochemical DNA biosensor is presented based on carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with gold (Au) and platinum (Pt) nanoparticles to prepare the bimetallic nanocomposite electrode. The proposed sensor was made by immobilization of 15-mer single stranded oligonucleotide probe related to p53 gene for detection of DNA plasmid samples. The hybridization detection relied on the alternation in the guanine oxidation signal following hybridization of the probe with complementary genomic DNA. The technique of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used for monitoring guanine oxidation. To optimize the performance of the modified CPE, different electrodes were prepared in various percentages of Au and Pt nanoparticles. The modified electrode containing 15% Au/Pt bimetallic nanoparticles (15% Au/Pt-MCPE) was selected as the best working electrode. The selectivity of the sensor was investigated using plasmid samples containing non-complementary oligonucleotides. The detection limit of the biosensor was studied and calculated to be 53.10 pg mu L-1.