Electrochemical detection of nucleic acids using graphene-based electrodes

Abstract

We showcase the variation of a popular technique for the detection of nucleic acids that involves differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). We fabricated an electrochemical sensor using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) for the sensitive detection of nucleic acids. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrated the electrochemical detection of deoxyguanosine triphosphate (dGTP). The dGTP, along with other nucleotides, are detectable with DPV because of their inherent electroactive nature. Each nucleotide has a characteristic redox peak that can be observed with DPV or cyclic voltammetry. The magnitude of each peak, which is measured in current, is proportional to the concentration of the nucleotide in solution. We observed the peaks between 0.7 and 1.0V, which is a characteristic range for dGTP, meaning that the RGO is a viable substrate for future use in rapidly detecting nucleic acids. This work shows the potential capabilities of the RGO as a material useful for a wide range of diagnostic applications, including on-chip real-time polymerase chain reaction for viral load detection and genotyping.