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Sensitive and selective DNA probe based on “turn-on” photoluminescence of C-dots@RGO

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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.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Science Council of Taiwan under contract 101-2113-M-002-002-MY3. A. P. Periasamy thanks the National Taiwan University for the award of a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Chen-I Wang, Arun Prakash Periasamy & Huan-Tsung Chang

  2. Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan

    Wei-Cheng Wu

  3. Nano Science and Technology Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan

    Wei-Cheng Wu

Authors
  1. Chen-I Wang
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  2. Wei-Cheng Wu
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  3. Arun Prakash Periasamy
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  4. Huan-Tsung Chang
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Correspondence to Huan-Tsung Chang.

Additional information

Published in the topical collection Graphene in Analytics with guest editors Martin Pumera, Ronen Polsky, and Craig Banks.

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Wang, CI., Wu, WC., Periasamy, A.P. et al. Sensitive and selective DNA probe based on “turn-on” photoluminescence of C-dots@RGO. Anal Bioanal Chem 406, 6917–6923 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-014-7658-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-014-7658-2

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