3D-nanostructured Au electrodes for the event-specific detection of MON810 transgenic maize

•Nanostructured three dimensional electrodes were fabricated.•A genosensor for the MON810 transgenic maize detection was developed.•A ternary monolayer was used to minimize the unspecific signals.•The developed genosensor was applied to detect transgenic sequence in real samples.

In the present work, the development of a genosensor for the event-specific detection of MON810 transgenic maize is proposed. Taking advantage of nanostructuration, a cost-effective three dimensional electrode was fabricated and a ternary monolayer containing a dithiol, a monothiol and the thiolated capture probe was optimized to minimize the unspecific signals. A sandwich format assay was selected as a way of precluding inefficient hybridization associated with stable secondary target structures. A comparison between the analytical performance of the Au nanostructured electrodes and commercially available screen-printed electrodes highlighted the superior performance of the nanostructured ones. Finally, the genosensor was effectively applied to detect the transgenic sequence in real samples, showing its potential for future quantitative analysis.

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