A highly sensitive DNA sensor for attomolar detection of the BRCA1 gene: signal amplification with gold nanoparticle clusters

Abstract

Single stranded DNA fragments were conjugated onto gold nanoparticles leading to the formation of gold nanoparticle clusters upon hybridization with complementary strands. These clusters were successfully implemented for signal amplification in an electrochemical DNA sensor based on a graphene substrate. The sensor exhibited excellent sensitivity and selectivity with a detection limit of 50 attomolar target DNA.