Au/NG/SWCNTs/FTO-glass modified electrode based electrochemical biosensor for DNA detection

Abstract

An easy, quick, and efficient detection of Multidrug Resistance (MDR) of cancer cells at the clinical level is the need of the hour for the effective treatment of leukemia patients. In this study, we reported carbon nanomaterials-based biosensors based on Au nanoparticles (Au-NPs) decorated on Nitrogen-doped Graphene (NG) and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) for effective, efficient, and sensitive detection of affected DNA. Three Au/NG/SWCNT-based Modified Electrode (ME) were made containing 2, 4, and 6 mg SWCNTs. The thiol group attached at the 5′end was immobilized at ME due to a strong bond between the Au-NPs and thiol group. NG/SWCNTs enhanced the performance of the composite due to its better sensitivity and fast electron transport. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), and Differential Potential Voltammetry (DPV) analysis were performed to monitor the performance of the sensor after the hybridization of target DNA onto the capture probe on the modified electrode surface. Different target DNA sequences were used to check the selectivity and sensitivity of the fabricated biosensor. The selectivity performance of prepared DNA sensors was also proved to be good shown by DPV results. The findings of this study provide insights for developing new highly sensitive, selective, and cost-effective portable biosensors for MDR gene detection, which will enable the early diagnosis of cancer more effective at the clinical level. Compared with previous DNA sensors with oligonucleotides directly incorporated on carbon electrodes, this carbon nanotube-based assay with its large surface area and good charge-transport characteristics dramatically increased DNA attachment quantity and complementary DNA detection sensitivity.