Ultrasensitive electrochemical DNA biosensor based on functionalized gold clusters/graphene nanohybrids coupling with exonuclease III-aided cascade target recycling

In this work, a novel and ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensor was constructed for DNA detection based on functionalized gold clusters/graphene nanohybrids (AuNCs/GR nanobybrids) and exonuclease III (Exo III)-aided cascade target recycling. By utilizing the capacity of GR as universal template, different metal nanoclusters including AuNCs/GR nanobybrids and PtNCs/GR nanohybrids were synthesized through convenient ultrasonic method. Exo III-aided cascade recycling was initiated by target DNA, generating the final cleavage product (S2), which acted as a linkage between capture probe and the functionalized metal nanoclusters/GR conjugates in the construction of the biosensor. The AuNCs/GR-DNA-enzyme conjugates acted as interfaces of enzyme-catalyzed silver deposition reaction, achieving DNA detection ranging from 0.02 fM to 20 pM with a detection limit of 0.057 fM. In addition, PtNCs/GR-DNA conjugates presented peroxidase-like activity and the functionalized PtNCs/GR nanohybrids-based electrochemical biosensor also realized DNA detection by catalyzing the 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine-hydrogen peroxide (TMB-H2O2) system to produce electrochemical signal. This metal clusters/GR-based multiple-amplified electrochemical biosensor provided an universal method for DNA detection.