Gold nanoparticle-assisted plasmonic enhancement for DNA detection on a graphene-based portable surface plasmon resonance sensor

Abstract

The impact of different gold nanoparticles (GNPs) structures on the plasmonic enhancement for DNA detection is investigated on a few-layer graphene (FLG) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor. Two distinct structures of gold nanourchins (GNu) and gold nanorods (GNr) were used to bind the uniquely designed single-stranded probe DNA (ssDNA) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) DNA. The two types of GNPs-ssDNA mixture were adsorbed onto the FLGcoated SPR sensor through the π-π stacking force between the ssDNA and the graphene layer. In the presence of the complementary single-stranded DNA (cssDNA), the hybridization process took place and gradually removed the probes from the graphene surface. From SPR sensor preparation, the annealing process of the Au layer of the SPR sensor effectively enhanced the FLG coverage leading to a higher load of the probe DNA onto the sensing interface. The FLG was shown effective in providing a larger surface area for biomolecular capture due to its roughness. Carried out in the DNA hybridization study with SPR sensor, GNu, with its rough and spikey structures, significantly reinforced the overall DNA hybridization signal than the GNr with smooth superficies, especially in capturing the probe DNA. The DNA hybridization detection assisted by GNu reached the femtomolar range limit of detection (LoD). An optical simulation validated the extreme plasmonic field enhancement at the tip of the GNu spicules. The overall integrated approach of graphenebased SPR sensor and GNu-assisted DNA detection provided the proof-of-concept for the possibility for Tuberculosis disease screening using a low-cost and portable system potentially applied in a remote or the third world countries.

Biosensors for European Zoonotic Agents: A Current Portuguese Perspective

“…In another approach, Prabowo et al (2021) reported a graphene-based portable surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor for the detection of MTC DNA [ 79 ]. In this approach, a graphene layer was deposited on an Au-SPR chip by drop-casting.…”

“…In contrast, the estimated signal of GNr reached only 8.2 pmol/L of cssDNA. Overall, this optical biosensor offered a simple, time-saving, and cost-effective design for the detection of MTC, while providing a low LOD and high specificity in DNA sensing, which is very promising for early screening of bacterial infections [ 79 ].…”

The challenges of developing biosensors for clinical assessment: a review

“…The plasmonic-based platforms are well known for the high sensitivity performance of biosensors [29,38].…”

“…Other attempts are by downscaling the sensing area into two-dimensional (2D) or onedimensional (1D) structures [60][61][62][63]. The 2D materials for the advanced sensing structure can be graphene [38,64,65] that enhances the detection down to attomolar to femtomolar ranges [66][67][68]. Other 2D materials, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) reported being able to boost the detection down to the femtomolar range for protein [69] dan DNA detection [70], respectively.…”

Optimization Based on the Surface Plasmon Optical Properties of Adjustable Metal Nano-Microcavity System for Biosensing

“…More recently, a new coronavirus detection chip based on nano-plasma optical sensing technology has been proposed by Huang and others (Huang et al, 2021), which has made a significant contribution to epidemic prevention and control. Additionally, the surface plasmon resonance technology has made major breakthroughs in biological imaging (Shpacovitch et al, 2015), DNA separation (Liu and Huang, 2013) and detection of small molecules (Prabowo et al, 2020). It also makes contributions to the production of hyperthermia reagents for cancer (Rozanova and Zhang, 2009) and research in the field of molecular biology.…”