Electrochemical DNA Biosensor for the Detection of Listeria Monocytogenes Using Toluidine Blue as a Hybridization Indicator

An electrochemical DNA biosensor was established for the determination of actin-assembly inducing protein (actA) gene sequences from Listeria monocytogenes and its polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product. The actA gene probe sequences were covalently immobilized on the surface of the mercaptoacetic acid self-assembled gold electrode with the help of N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS), which was further used to hybridize with the target sequence. Toluidine blue (TB) was used as an effective electrochemical indicator for the discrimination of the hybridization reaction on the electrode surface, which had stronger interaction with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) than single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). The electrochemical parameters of TB on DNA modified electrodes were carefully calculated. Based on the different electrochemical responses of TB on DNA modified electrodes, the actA gene sequences can be detected in the concentration range from 1.0 × 10-7 to 8.0 × 10-5 M. The PCR product of Listeria monocytogenes was successfully detected by the proposed electrochemical biosensor.