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A selective and regenerable voltammetric aptasensor for determination of homocysteine

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Abstract

We describe an electrochemical aptasensor for the amino acid homocysteine (hCys). A gold electrode was modified with a highly specific aptamer against hCys (a 66-base DNA oligonucleotide) acting as the recognition probe. The method is highly selective over cysteine and methionine. The effects of accumulation time, type and concentration of accumulation buffer and pH, type and concentration of stripping buffer were studied. Under optimized conditions and a working potential of 1.07 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), the response to hCys is linear in the 0.2 to 10 μM concentration range. The detection limit is 10 nM, and the relative standard deviation is 3.1 % (at 1 μM of hCys). The electrode can be regenerated by immersing it into a 3 M solution of urea solution. The method was applied to the determination of hCys in (spiked) serum and urine and gave recoveries of 88.5 and 96.5 %, respectively.

A label-free aptasensor for electrochemical detection of homocysteine was designed. A gold electrode was modified with a thiolated aptamer by self-assembly. The assembled interface enables detection of homocysteine by differential pulse voltammetry.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Research Council of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Jaber Saeed & Mohammad Mirzaei

  2. Young Research Society, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Jaber Saeed

  3. Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science, High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran

    Masoud Torkzadeh-Mahani

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  1. Jaber Saeed
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  2. Mohammad Mirzaei
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Correspondence to Mohammad Mirzaei.

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Saeed, J., Mirzaei, M. & Torkzadeh-Mahani, M. A selective and regenerable voltammetric aptasensor for determination of homocysteine. Microchim Acta 183, 2205–2210 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-016-1852-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-016-1852-1

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