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An electrochemical DNA biosensor based on nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets decorated with gold nanoparticles for genetically modified maize detection

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Abstract

A reliable electrochemical biosensor is reported based on nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets and gold nanoparticle (Au/N-G) nanocomposites for the event-specific detection of GM maize MIR162. The differential pulse voltammetry response of methylene blue (MB) was chosen to monitor the target DNA hybridization event. Under the optimum conditions, the peak current increased linearly with the logarithm of the concentration of DNA in the range 1.0 × 10−14 to 1.0 × 10−8 M, and the detection limit was 2.52 × 10−15 M (S/N = 3). It is also demonstrated that the DNA biosensor has high selectivity, good stability, and fabrication reproducibility. The biosensor has been effectively applied to detect MIR162 in real samples, showing its potential as an effective tool for GM crop analysis. These results will contribute to the development of new portable transgenic detection systems.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31200944), the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2019YFA0904700), and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of CAAS (no. CAAS-ZDRW202009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Science and Technology, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, 130000, People’s Republic of China

    Fuli Liu, Yukun Zhang, Jiaqi Ding, Tingting Wen, Wei Ji, Jian Liu & Xiao Zhang

  2. College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Xinwu Pei, Yongliang Yan & Liang Li

  3. Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Kai Li

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  1. Fuli Liu
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  2. Kai Li
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  3. Yukun Zhang
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  4. Jiaqi Ding
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  9. Jian Liu
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  10. Xiao Zhang
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  11. Liang Li
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Correspondence to Jian Liu, Xiao Zhang or Liang Li.

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Liu, F., Li, K., Zhang, Y. et al. An electrochemical DNA biosensor based on nitrogen-doped graphene nanosheets decorated with gold nanoparticles for genetically modified maize detection. Microchim Acta 187, 574 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-020-04511-4

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