Graphene oxide-based biosensor for sensitive fluorescence detection of DNA based on exonuclease III-aided signal amplification

Based on the super fluorescence quenching efficiency of graphene oxide and exonuclease ill aided signal amplification, we develop a facile, sensitive, rapid and cost-effective method for DNA detection. In the presence of target DNA, the target-probe hybridization forms a double-stranded structure and exonuclease III catalyzes the stepwise removal of mononucleotides from the blunt 3' termini of probe, resulting in the recycling of the target DNA and signal amplification. Therefore, our proposed sensor exhibits a high sensitivity towards target DNA with a detection limit of 20 pM, which was even lower than previously reported GO-based DNA sensors without enzymatic amplification, and provides a universal sensing platform for sensitive detection of DNA. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.