Electrochemistry of Nucleic Acids at Solid Electrodes and Its Applications

Abstract

The knowledge of the redox chemistry of nucleic acids (NA) is of paramount importance in cancer and aging research. Charge migration through DNA is also involved in biologically relevant functions such as DNA damage and repair. In the first part of this article the main aspects of the electrochemistry of nucleic acids at solid electrodes are revised, including redox processes, photoelectroactivity and electrical conductivity. In the second part, an overview of its applications is presented. Methods for electrochemical detection of NA, NA-based biosensors for detection of nonnucleic acid molecules, studies on the nature and dynamics of interactions and structural conformations of NA, are some applications that take advantage of NA electrochemistry at solid electrodes.

Electrochemical response of oligonucleotides on carbon paste electrode

“…Nucleic acid research has a fundamental meaning for the explanation of molecular processes in all living organisms and finds wide practical applications in molecular diagnosis, food analysis and environmental monitoring. Among different methods of nucleic acids analysis electrochemical techniques are quite frequently used as simple, relatively cheap, sensitive and reliable tools [1][2][3][4][5][6]. One of the most interesting fields of electrochemical analysis applications are electrochemical DNA sensors.…”

Streptavidin Modified Carbon Nanotube Based Graphite Electrode for Label‐Free Sequence Specific DNA Detection

“…The large size of streptavidin (54 Â 58 Â 48 A) [35,36] blocks the electron transfer. It is well known that guanine oxidation is strongly dependent on the direct DNA adsorption onto the electrode substrate [37], and therefore increased STR concentrations restrict direct contact with the surface of CNT-PGE. Thus, 20 mg mL À1 of STR was chosen as the optimum concentration level for biotinylated DNA modification onto CNT coated single-use electrodes.…”

Voltammetric Behavior of the Alizarin Red S Interaction with DNA and Damage to DNA

“…In order to obtain more information, the signal changes of the guanosine residues oxidation were examined, because the guanosine residues were more easily oxidized than the adenosine residues and the signal changes of guanosine residues oxidation was sensitive to test DNA damage [37]. The strength dependence of guanosine residues oxidation peak on the number of successive cathodic scans from À 0.20 V to À 0.60 V was explored.…”