Studies on biotin–avidin indirect conjugated technology for a piezoelectric DNA sensor

Abstract

Because of their high sensitivity, piezoelectric sensor techniques are extremely useful for environmental or clinical analysis. We developed a piezoelectric crystal DNA biosensor for the detection of the hybridization reaction based on the self-assembled monolayer technology and biotin–avidin system. 3,3′-Dithiopropionic acid was applied to form a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on the gold surface of the quartz crystal. Avidin was coated on the gold electrode conjugated with 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]-carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS), and then biotinylated nucleotide acids were immobilized on the gold electrode surface through the specific interaction of biotin and avidin. Our results indicated that, using this immobilization method, the piezoelectric DNA sensor shows a higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting the hybridization reaction. The sensor can be used repeatedly by electrode regeneration.

Keywords:

• Piezoelectric DNA sensor
• Biotin–avidin system
• Self-assembled monolayer

Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the State Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No: C30271159) and the Tianjin Natural Science Foundation (Project No: 033605611).