title: Electrochemical detection of DNA hybridization using biometallization.
abstract: We demonstrate the amplified detection of a target DNA based on the enzymatic deposition of silver. In this method, the target DNA and a biotinylated detection DNA probe hybridize to a capture DNA probe tethered onto a gold electrode. Neutravidin-conjugated alkaline phosphatase binds to the biotin of the detection probe on the electrode surface and converts the nonelectroactive substrate of the enzyme, p-aminophenyl phosphate, into the reducing agent, p-aminophenol. The latter, in turn, reduces metal ions in solutions leading to deposition of the metal onto the electrode surface and DNA backbone. This process, which we term biometallization, leads to a great enhancement in signal due to the accumulation of metallic silver by a catalytically generated enzyme product and, thus, the electrochemical amplification of a biochemically amplified signal. The anodic stripping current of enzymatically deposited silver provides a measure of the extent of hybridization of the target oligomers. This biometallization process is highly sensitive, detecting as little as 100 aM (10 zmol) of DNA. We also successfully applied this method to the sequence-selective discrimination between perfectly matched and mismatched target oligonucleotides including a single-base mismatched target.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seongpil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Eunkyung
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Juhyoun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kwak
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D019921:Biotinylation; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D015342:DNA Probes / Q000032:analysis; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D004800:Enzymes, Immobilized; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization / Q000379:methods*; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes; D004800:Enzymes, Immobilized; D012834:Silver; D004247:DNA; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase