@article{WuBronderPoghossianetal.2015,
  author    = {Wu, Chunsheng and Bronder, Thomas and Poghossian, Arshak and Werner, Frederik and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef},
  title     = {Label-free detection of DNA using light-addressable potentiometric sensor modified with a positively charged polyelectrolyte layer},
  series = {Nanoscale},
  volume    = {14},
  journal   = {Nanoscale},
  number    = {7},
  publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)},
  address   = {Cambridge},
  doi       = {10.1039/C4NR07225A},
  pages     = {6143 -- 6150},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {A multi-spot (16 spots) light-addressable potentiometric sensor (MLAPS) consisting of an Al-p-Si-SiO2 structure modified with a weak polyelectrolyte layer of PAH (poly(allylamine hydrochloride)) was applied for the label-free electrical detection of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) immobilization and hybridization by the intrinsic molecular charge for the first time. To achieve a preferentially flat orientation of DNA strands and thus, to reduce the distance between the DNA charge and MLAPS surface, the negatively charged probe single-stranded DNAs (ssDNA) were electrostatically adsorbed onto the positively charged PAH layer using a simple layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. In this way, more DNA charge can be positioned within the Debye length, yielding a higher sensor signal. The surface potential changes in each spot induced due to the surface modification steps (PAH adsorption, probe ssDNA immobilization, hybridization with complementary target DNA (cDNA), non-specific adsorption of mismatched ssDNA) were determined from the shifts of photocurrent-voltage curves along the voltage axis. A high sensor signal of 83 mV was registered after immobilization of probe ssDNA onto the PAH layer. The hybridization signal increases from 5 mV to 32 mV with increasing the concentration of cDNA from 0.1 nM to 5 μM. In contrast, a small signal of 5 mV was recorded in the case of non-specific adsorption of fully mismatched ssDNA (5 μM). The obtained results demonstrate the potential of the MLAPS in combination with the simple and rapid LbL immobilization technique as a promising platform for the future development of multi-spot light-addressable label-free DNA chips with direct electrical readout.},
  language  = {en}
}