Hybridization Biosensors Relying on Electrical Properties of Nucleic Acids

Electrochemical nucleic acids (NA) technologies allow development of sensitive and accurate, yet simple, inexpensive and robust analytical platforms, which can successfully compete with other approaches. In this Review, I critically overview the basic trends in construction of label-free DNA hybridization genosensors exploiting variations in electrical properties of the electrode-immobilized NA. It will be discussed how interfacial and electronic properties of NA can be modulated to allow efficient biosensor applications, including the choice of the redox probe and use of alternative linkers and immobilization strategies These results contribute to understanding of interfacial ET reactions in DNA and advanced design of fast, reliable and cost-effective diagnostic devices.