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Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Fabrication of Electrochemical-DNA Biosensors for the Reagentless Detection of Nucleic Acids, Proteins and Small Molecules
Published on: June 1, 2011
Electrochemical DNA biosensor for analysis of wastewater samples
F Lucarelli1, A Kicela, I Palchetti
1Dipartimento di Chimica/Polo Scientifico, Università degli studi di Firenze, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy.
Abstract:
The application of a disposable electrochemical DNA biosensor to wastewater samples is reported. The DNA biosensor is assembled by immobilising double-stranded calf thymus DNA on the surface of a disposable, carbon screen-printed electrode (SPE). The oxidation signal of the guanine base, obtained by a square wave voltammetric scan, is used as analytical signal. The presence of compounds with affinity for DNA is measured by their effect on the guanine oxidation. The comparison of the results with a toxicity test based on bioluminescent bacteria has confirmed the applicability of the method to real samples.

