Donghoon Han, Yang-Rae Kim, Jeong-Wook Oh, Tae Hyun Kim, Rakesh Kumar Mahajan, Jong Seung Kim*, Hasuck Kim*
Analyst 2009, 134(8), 1857−1862
Publication online: June 25, 2009
Publication date: September 1, 2009
DOI: 10.1039/b908457f
ISSN: 0003-2654
Journal country: England
Publisher: ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY
URL: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2009/an/b908457f?page=search
Abstract: We have developed a selective, sensitive, and re-usable electrochemical sensor for Hg2+ ion detection. This sensor is based on the Hg2+-induced conformational change of a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) which involves an electroactive, ferrocene-labeled DNA hairpin structure and provides strategically the selective binding of a thymine–thymine mismatch for the Hg2+ ion. The ferrocene-labeled DNA is self-assembled through S–Au bonding on a polycrystalline gold electrode surface and the surface blocked with 3-mercapto-1-propanol to form a mixed monolayer. The modified electrode showed a voltammetric signal due to a one-step redox reaction of the surface-confined ferrocenyl moiety. The ‘signal-on’ upon mercury binding could be attributed to a change in the conformation of ferrocene-labeled DNA from an open structure to a restricted hairpin structure. The differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) of the modified electrode showed a linear response of the ferrocene oxidation signal with increase of Hg2+ concentration in the range between 0.1 and 2 µM with a detection limit of 0.1 µM. The molecular beacon mercury(II) ion sensor was amenable to regeneration by simply unfolding the ferrocene-labeled DNA in 10 µM cysteine, and could be regenerated with no loss in signal gain upon subsequent mercury(II) ion binding.
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