The resonance Rayleigh light scattering spectral investigation on the interaction of DNA with camellia sinensis in the presence of CPC and its analytical application

• A novel method of determination of DNA was proposed.
• The linear range was 0.024–3.48 μg mL−1.
• The detection limit was 1.49 ng mL−1.

A novel method with high sensitivity was designed for the determination of trace nucleic acids by using cationic surfactant cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and camellia sinensis (CS) as resonance Rayleigh light scattering (RLS) probes. It was found DNA could combine with CS and CPC in Tris–HCl buffer (pH = 7.4). Under optimum conditions, the RLS intensity of DNA can be enhanced by CPC–CS obviously at 294 nm, and the enhanced RLS intensity was directly proportional to DNA concentration in the range from 0.024 to 3.48 μg mL−1 with a good linear relationship (r = 0.9940). The limit of detection (LOD) was 1.49 ng mL−1 (S/N = 3). In addition, the effects of some interferences including K+, Na+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Ca2+ and glucose on the determination were studied. The developed RLS assay was successfully applied to three synthetic samples to measure DNA, the recovery was 94.7–106.3% and RSD was 0.58–3.33%.

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