Electrochemical biosensors as a tool for the investigation of DNA structure, damage and interaction with other molecules

Abstract

In recent years, a great progress was achieved in the development of electrochemical sensors for DNA sequences, hybridization and damage. Nowadays, electrochemical methods are able to detect DNA at nanomolar concentration. In addition, these methods are suitable for studding both covalent and non-covalent binding interactions between DNA and different small molecules, e.g. drugs or potentially mutagenic agents. This suggests that electrochemical biosensors might become important tools in medical research. The aim of this review is to draw attention to the applicability of different electrochemical techniques for studying interactions between DNA with other molecules, and in the design of new sensitive and selective biosensors.

Poslednjih godina je postignut veliki napredak u razvoju elektrohemijskih biosenzora za ispitivanja sekvenci, hibridizacije i oštećenja na molekulu DNK. Primenom elektrohemijskih metoda se u današnje vreme mogu detektovati i određivati nanomolarne koncentracije DNK. Pored toga, ove metode su pogodne za ispitivanje kako kovalentnih, tako i nekovalentnih interakcija između DNK i različitih malih molekula, kakvi su lekovi i drugi potencijalno mutageni agensi. Ovo sugeriše da bi elektrohemijski biosenzori mogli biti od značaja i u oblast medicinskih istraživanja. Cilj ovoga preglednog rada je da skrene pažnju na primenljivost različitih elektrohemijskih metoda za proučavanje interakcija između DNK i drugih molekula, kao i u izradu novih osetljivih i selektivnih biosenzora.