title: Sensitive and selective DNA probe based on "turn-on" photoluminescence of C-dots@RGO.
abstract: In this study, highly hydrophilic and photoluminescent sheets of reduced graphene oxide decorated with carbon dots (C-dots@RGO), methylene blue (MB), and a probe DNA have been used for the detection of DNA. The photoluminescence of C-dots@RGO is quenched by MB, which is restored in the presence of a target DNA. The combination of the C-dots@RGO, MB, and a DNA probe is selective for perfectly matched DNA over mismatched DNA, mainly because relative to single-stranded DNA, double-stranded DNA intercalates more strongly with MB, but interacts more weakly with RGO. In the presence of a target DNA, MB intercalates with the as-formed double-stranded DNA and is released from the surface of C-dots@RGO, leading to "turn-on" photoluminescence. The practicality of this assay has been validated by the determination of tumor suppressor gene BRCA1, with linearity over the concentration range from 25 to 250 nM and a limit of detection (LOD, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3) of 14.6 nM. The C-dots@RGO probe provides higher specificity towards target DNA than towards common salts, carbohydrates, amino acids, and proteins found in real samples. Having the advantages of simplicity, cost-effectiveness, selectivity, and sensitivity, the DNA-P/C-dots@RGO-MB probe on microwells has been successfully employed for the detection of DNA, suggesting its potential for multiple analyses of DNA targets when various DNA probes are employed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chen-I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei-Cheng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Arun Prakash
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Periasamy
authors.forename: Huan-Tsung
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D015342:DNA Probes; D049449:Luminescence; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes