A molecular beacon biosensor based on the nanostructured aluminum oxide surface

•Nanostructured aluminum oxide surface.•Fluorescence enhancement.•Molecular beacon biosensor.•10 nM detection limit with high specificity.

A new class of molecular beacon biosensors based on the nanostructured aluminum oxide or anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) surface is reported. In this type of sensor, the AAO surface is used to enhance the fluorescent signals of the fluorophore-labeled hairpin DNA. When a target DNA with a complementary sequence to that of the hairpin DNA is applied on the sensor, the fluorophores are forced to move away from the AAO surface due to the hybridization between the hairpin DNA and the target DNA, resulting in the significant decrease of the fluorescent signals. The observed signal reduction is sufficient to achieve a demonstrated detection limit of 10 nM, which could be further improved by optimizing the AAO surface. The control experiments have also demonstrated that the bioassay used in the experiments has excellent specificity and selectivity, indicating the great promise of this type of sensor for diagnostic applications. Since the arrayed AAO micropatterns can be fabricated on a single chip in a cost-effective manner, the arrayed sensors could provide an ideal technical platform for studying fundamental biological process and monitoring disease biomarkers.