Large-scale synthesis of coordination polymer microdendrites and their application as a sensing platform for fluorescent DNA detection

In this paper, we report on the large-scale, rapid synthesis of coordination polymer microdendrites (CPMDs) assembled from Pd(II) and p-phenylenediamine for the first time. We further explored the use of the CPMDs as an effective fluorescent sensing platform for DNA detection. This sensing system exhibits a low detection limit of 13 nM and a high selectivity down to single-base mismatch. The detection is accomplished in two steps: (1) CPMDs adsorb the dye-labeled single-stranded DNA probe and quenches the fluorescence; (2) in the presence of the target, a hybridization event occurs, which produces a double-stranded DNA that detaches from the CPMD surface, leading to the recovery of the dye fluorescence.