Electrochemical sensor based on Fe3O4/?-Fe2O3@Au magnetic nanocomposites for sensitive determination of the TP53 gene

Considering the high cost and tedious process of gene sequencing, there is an urgent need to develop portable and efficient sensors for the TP53 gene. Here, we developed a novel electrochemical sensor that detected the TP53 gene using magnetic peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-modified Fe3O4/alpha-Fe2O3@Au nanocomposites. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirmed the successful stepwise construction of the sensor, especially the high-affinity binding of PNA to DNA strands, which induced different electron transfer rates and resulted in current changes. Variations in the differential pulse voltammetry current observed during hybridization at different surface PNA probe densities, hybridization times, and hybridization temperatures were explored. The biosensing strategy obtained a limit of detection of 0.26 pM, a limit of quantification of 0.85 pM, and a wide linear range (1 pM-1 mu M), confirming that the Fe3O4/alpha-Fe2O3@Au nanocomposites and the strategy based on magnetic separation and magnetically induced self-assembly improved the binding efficiency of nucleic acid molecules. The biosensor was a label-free and enzyme-free device with excellent reproducibility and sta-bility that could identify single-base mismatched DNA without additional DNA amplification procedures, and the serum spiked experiments revealed the feasibility of the detection approach.

Automated summary

Considering the high cost and tedious process of gene sequencing, a portable and efficient sensor for the TP53 gene is urgently needed. In this study, a novel electrochemical sensor was developed using magnetic peptide nucleic acid-modified Fe3O4/alpha-Fe2O3@Au nanocomposites to detect the TP53 gene. The sensor exhibited high-affinity binding of PNA to DNA strands, leading to current changes and enabling the detection of TP53 gene variations.