Modified rare earth semiconductor oxide as a new nucleotide probe

The electrochemical applications of rare earth-based nanomaterials

This review presents a general description of the synthesis and electrochemical properties of rare earth-based nanomaterials and their electrochemical applications.

Nanomaterials as analytical tools for genosensors

Nanomaterials are being increasingly used for the development of electrochemical DNA biosensors, due to the unique electrocatalytic properties found in nanoscale materials. They offer excellent prospects for interfacing biological recognition events with electronic signal transduction and for designing a new generation of bioelectronic devices exhibiting novel functions. In particular, nanomaterials such as noble metal nanoparticles (Au, Pt), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), magnetic nanoparticles, quantum dots and metal oxide nanoparticles have been actively investigated for their applications in DNA biosensors, which have become a new interdisciplinary frontier between biological detection and material science. In this article, we address some of the main advances in this field over the past few years, discussing the issues and challenges with the aim of stimulating a broader interest in developing nanomaterial-based biosensors and improving their applications in disease diagnosis and food safety examination.

Recent advances in DNA sensors

The concept of DNA biosensors is sustained by the need for rapid and highly sensitive analytical tools for genetic detection. Their implementation is based on three key steps: (i) immobilization of single-stranded oligonucleotide probes onto a substrate; (ii) hybridization and (iii) reading. These steps involve complementary knowledge in various disciplinary fields such as surface physics and chemistry, molecular electrochemistry, micro-technologies, optics, electronics and biochemistry. We present here, in a non-exhaustive way, the recent advances in the two steps of immobilization and detection that rely upon increasing integration of the number of reading points or/and of the reading strategy.