Electrochemical label-free and reagentless genosensor based on an ion barrier switch-off system for DNA sequence-specific detection of the avian influenza virus.

This paper concerns the development of genosensors based on redox-active monolayers incorporating (dipyrromethene)2Cu(II) and (dipyrromethene)2Co(II) complexes formed step by step on a gold electrode surface. They were applied for electrochemical determination of oligonucleotide sequences related to avian influenza virus (AIV) type H5N1. A 20-mer probe (NH2-NC3) was covalently attached to the gold electrode surface via a reaction performed in the presence of ethyl(dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide / N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) between the amine group present in the probe and carboxylic groups present on the surface of the redox-active layer. Each modification step has been controlled with Osteryoung square-wave voltammetry. The genosensor incorporating the (dipyrromethene)2Cu(II) complex was able to detect a fully complementary single-stranded DNA target with a detection limit of 1.39 pM. A linear dynamic range was observed from 1 to 10 pM. This genosensor displays good discrimination between three sing...