Coordination polymer nanobelts as an effective sensing platform for fluorescence-enhanced nucleic acid detection

In this communication, the application of coordination polymer nanobelts (CPNs) assembled from H(2)PtCl(6) and 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) are explored as an effective fluorescent sensing platform for nucleic acid detection for the first time. The suggested method has a high selectivity down to single-base mismatch. DNA detection is accomplished by the following two steps: (1) CPN binds fluorecent dye-labeled single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) probe via both electrostatic attraction and π-π stacking interactions between unpaired DNA bases and CPN. As a result, the fluorescent dye is brought into close proximity to CPN and substantial fluorescence quenching occurs due to photoinduced electron transfer from the nitrogen atom in CPN to the excited fluorophore. (2) The hybridization of adsorbed ssDNA probe with its target generates a double stranded DNA (dsDNA). The duplex cannot be adsorbed by CPN due to its rigid conformation and the absence of unpaired DNA bases, leading to an obvious fluorescence enhancement.