4.8 Article

Real-time monitoring of PCR amplification of proto-oncogene c-MYC using a Ta2O5 electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor sensor

Journal

BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
Volume 28, Issue 1, Pages 44-49

Publisher

ELSEVIER ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2011.06.039

Keywords

Sensors/Biosensors; Real-time PCR; DNA quantification; Cancer; EIS; Field effect based sensors; Tantalum pentoxide

Funding

  1. Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT-MCTES)
  2. ERC [228144]
  3. INL
  4. [BloodFET-PTDC/SAU-BEB/098125/2009]
  5. European Research Council (ERC) [228144] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)

Ask authors/readers for more resources

We present a new approach for real-time monitoring of PCR amplification of a specific sequence from the human c-MYC proto-oncogene using a Ta2O5 electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) sensor. The response of the fabricated EIS sensor to cycle DNA amplification was evaluated and compared to standard SYBR-green fluorescence incorporation, showing it was possible to detect DNA concentration variations with 30 mV/mu M sensitivity. The sensor's response was then optimized to follow in real-time the PCR amplification of c-MYC sequence from a genomic DNA sample attaining an amplification profile comparable to that of a standard real-time PCR. Owing to the small size, ease of fabrication and low-cost, the developed Ta2O5 sensor may be incorporated onto a microfluidic device and then used for real-time PCR. Our approach may circumvent the practical and economical obstacles posed by current platforms that require an external fluorescence detector difficult to miniaturize and incorporate into a lab-on-chip system. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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