A simple and novel method for the quantitative detection of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine using carbon nanotube field-effect transistors

5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) is an important epigenetic derivative of cytosine and quantitative detection of 5-hmC could be used as a reliable biomarker for a variety of human diseases. Current technologies used in 5-hmC detection are complicated and time/cost inefficient. In this work, we report the first application of antibody-functionalized carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNT-FETs) in quantitative detection of 5-hmC from mouse tissues. This method achieves facile and ultra-sensitive 5-hmC detection based on electrical performance device and avoids complicated processing for DNA samples. The 5-hmC content percentages of normal mouse cerebrum, cerebellum, spleen, lung, liver, and heart samples presented in the genomic DNA were measured as 0.653, 0.573, 0.002, 0.020, 0.076, and 0.009, respectively, which is consistent with previous reports. This technology could be developed into facile routine 5-hmC monitoring devices for clinic human disease diagnoses.