Ordered Assembly of DNA on Topological Insulator Bi₂Se₃ and Octadecylamine for a Sensitive Biosensor

Abstract

Controlling the assembly of DNA in order on a suitable electrode surface is of great significance for biosensors and disease diagnosis, but it is full of challenges. In this work, we creatively assembled DNA on the surface of octadecylamine (ODA)-modified topological insulator (Tls) Bi 2 Se 3 and developed an electrochemical biosensor to detect biomarker DNA of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A high-quality Bi 2 Se 3 sheet was obtained from a single crystal synthesized in our lab. A uniform ODA layer was coated in argon by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). We observed and analyzed the assembly and mechanism of single-strand DNA (ssDNA) and double-strand DNA (dsDNA) on the Bi 2 Se 3 surface through atomic force microscopy (AFM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The electrochemical signal revealed that the biosensor based on the DNA/ODA/Bi 2 Se 3 electrode has a wide linear detection range from 1.0 × 10 −12 to 1.0 × 10 −8 M, with the limit of detection as low as 5 × 10 −13 M. Bi 2 Se 3 has robust surface states and improves the electrochemical signal-to-noise ratio, while the uniform ODA layer guides high-density ordered DNA, enhancing the sensitivity of the biosensor. Our work demonstrates that the ordered DNA/ODA/Bi 2 Se 3 electrode surface has great application potential in the field of biosensing and disease diagnosis.