Simultaneous detection of dual single-base mutations by capillary electrophoresis using quantum dot-molecular beacon probe

Here a novel capillary electrophoresis (CE) for simultaneous detection of dual single-base mutations using quantum dot-molecular beacon (QD-MB) probe is described. Two QD-MB probes were designed using 585 and 650-nm emitting CdTe QDs which were covalently conjugated to MBs with different DNA oligonucleotide sequences by amide linkage and streptavidin–biotin binding, respectively. The hybridizations of QD-MB probes with different DNA targets were then monitored by CE, and results indicated that the two QD-MB probes specifically hybridized with their complementary DNA sequences, respectively. Target DNA identification was observed to have a high sensitivity of 16.2 pg in CE. Furthermore, the simultaneous detection of dual single-base mutations in a given DNA oligonucleotide was successfully achieved in CE using above two QD-MB probes. This novel CE-assisted QD-MB biosensor offers a promising approach for simultaneous detection of multiple single-base mutations, and exhibits potential capability in the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis and high-sensitivity DNA detection.