Enhanced electrochemical recognition of double-stranded DNA by using hybridization chain reaction and positively charged gold nanoparticles

Enhanced sequence-specific recognition of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) was realized by using hybridization chain reaction (HCR) and positively charged gold nanoparticles ((+)AuNPs) dual signal amplification. To construct such a sensor, capture probe was initially assembled onto gold electrode surface. Upon addition of dsDNA, sandwiched DNA complex was formed between the capture probe and the detection probe, then another exposed part of the detection probe opened two alternating DNA hairpins (H1 and H2) in turn and initiated HCR to form a double-helix. Meantime, (+)AuNPs were electrostatically adsorbed onto such double-helix to amplify the electrochemical signal. Upon optimal conditions, the electronic signals of ferrocene (Fc) that modified on H1 and H2 increased linearly with increasing dsDNA concentration over the range from 15 pM to 1.0 nM, with a detection limit of 2.6 pM. Moreover, the proposed method showed good sequence specificity for dsDNA recognition.