Electrically active magnetic nanoparticles as novel concentrator and electrochemical redox transducer in Bacillus anthracis DNA detection

Magnetic polymer nanostructures are a new class of multifunctional nanomaterials that are recently being explored in biosensor devices. In this paper, for the first time we report the novel application of electrically active magnetic (EAM) nanoparticles as concentrator of DNA targets as well as electrochemical transducers for detection of the Bacillus anthracis protective antigen A (pag A) gene. The EAM nanoparticles are synthesized by chemical polymerization and have dimensions of 80–100 nm. The biosensor detection encompasses two sets of DNA probes that are specific to the target gene: the detector probe labeled with the EAM nanoparticles and the biotinylated capture probe. The DNA targets are double hybridized to the detector and the capture probes and concentrated from nonspecific DNA fragments by applying a magnetic field. Subsequently, the DNA sandwiched targets (EAM-detector probe–DNA target–capture probe-biotin) are captured on streptavidin modified screen printed carbon electrodes through the biotinylated capture probes. Detection is achieved electrochemically by measuring the oxidation–reduction signal of the EAM nanoparticles. Preliminary results indicate that the biosensor is able to detect the redox signal of the EAM nanoparticles at DNA concentrations as low as 0.01 ng/μl.