Artificial Sandwich Base for Monitoring Single-Nucleobase Changes and Charge-Transfer Rates in DNA

Anal Chem. 2019 Feb 5;91(3):2074-2078. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b04513. Epub 2019 Jan 8.

Abstract

Developing a convenient method to discriminate among different types of DNA nucleotides within a target sequence of the human genome is extremely challenging. We herein report an artificial ferrocene-base (Fe-base) that was synthesized and incorporated into different loci of a DNA strand. The Fe-base replacement on a nucleobase can interact with DNA bases and efficiently discriminate among A, T, G, and C DNA bases of the complementary locus on the basis of interacting electrochemical properties. Furthermore, cyclic-voltammetry (CV) studies demonstrated the electrochemical stability of DNA strands incorporated with Fe-bases and the reversibility of the incorporation. Square-wave voltammetry (SWV) was performed to measure current changes between Fe-bases and bases of interest in the DNA duplex. The changes in the charge-transfer rates appeared to be correlated with the position of the Fe-base in the DNA strand, allowing rapid and efficient sensing of single-nucleobase changes in DNA and showing promise for the design of Fe-oligomer chip technology as a tool for DNA sequencing.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adenine / analysis*
  • Cytosine / analysis*
  • DNA / chemistry*
  • Electrochemical Techniques*
  • Guanine / analysis*
  • Thymine / analysis*

Substances

  • Guanine
  • Cytosine
  • DNA
  • Adenine
  • Thymine