Combination of cascade chemical reactions with graphene–DNA interaction to develop new strategy for biosensor fabrication

Graphene, a single atom thick and two dimensional carbon nano-material, has been proven to possess many unique properties, one of which is the recent discovery that it can interact with single-stranded DNA through noncovalent π–π stacking. In this work, we demonstrate that a new strategy to fabricate many kinds of biosensors can be developed by combining this property with cascade chemical reactions. Taking the fabrication of glucose sensor as an example, while the detection target, glucose, may regulate the graphene–DNA interaction through three cascade chemical reactions, electrochemical techniques are employed to detect the target-regulated graphene–DNA interaction. Experimental results show that in a range from 5 μM to 20 mM, the glucose concentration is in a natural logarithm with the logarithm of the amperometric response, suggesting a best detection limit and detection range. The proposed biosensor also shows favorable selectivity, and it has the advantage of no need for labeling. What is more, by controlling the cascade chemical reactions, detection of a variety of other targets may be achieved, thus the strategy proposed in this work may have a wide application potential in the future.

► Combination of cascade chemical reactions with graphene–DNA interaction.
► A broader scope for the application of graphene in biosensing can be achieved.
► Development of electrochemical study on target-regulated graphene–DNA interaction.
► Glucose can be well detected with a superior detection limit and detection range.