Electrochemical sensing based on DNA nanotechnology

Electrochemical sensing is one of the major areas in analytical chemistry, since it is easy, reliable, and cheap compared to other analytical techniques. In this way, using DNA to develop novel electrochemical sensing devices bring many advantages compared to other biomolecules. However, the electrochemical properties of DNA are still under discovery. Herein we show three different properties of DNA, which were already studied by electrochemistry, and that can be further explored: (1) the DNA conductivity, derived from the base pair stacking enabling DNA to be a molecular wire; (2) DNA computing, derived from the interaction between different DNA sequences enabling the performance of logic to perform analytical operations; and (3) DNA self-assembly, due to base pairing, DNA can form nanostructures that can provide better electrochemical control. Finally, some perspectives for the topic will be discussed, focusing mainly in the interdisciplinary use of DNA nanostructures in electrochemistry. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.