Direct detection of DNA conformation in hybridization processes

DNA hybridization studies at surfaces normally rely on the detection of mass changes as a result of the addition of the complementary strand. In this work we propose a mass-independent sensing principle based on the quantitative monitoring of the conformation of the immobilized single-strand probe and of the final hybridized product. This is demonstrated by using a label-free acoustic technique, the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM-D), and oligonucleotides of specific sequences which, upon hybridization, result in DNAs of various shapes and sizes. Measurements of the acoustic ratio ΔD/ΔF in combination with a "discrete molecule binding" approach are used to confirm the formation of straight hybridized DNA molecules of specific lengths (21, 75, and 110 base pairs); acoustic results are also used to distinguish between single- and double-stranded molecules as well as between same-mass hybridized products with different shapes, i.e., straight or "Y-shaped". Issues such as the effect of mono- and divalent cations to hybridization and the mechanism of the process (nucleation, kinetics) when it happens on a surface are carefully considered. Finally, this new sensing principle is applied to single-nucleotide polymorphism detection: a DNA hairpin probe hybridized to the p53 target gene gave products of distinct geometrical features depending on the presence or absence of the SNP, both readily distinguishable. Our results suggest that DNA conformation probing with acoustic wave sensors is a much more improved detection method over the popular mass-related, on/off techniques offering higher flexibility in the design of solid-phase hybridization assays.