Electrochemical Method for G‐quartet RNA Detection of COVID‐19 Based on Cyclic Ferrocenylnaphthalene Diimide

Abstract

To develop an electrochemical detection method for COVID-19, we have investigated the interaction between RG-1, a characteristic parallel four-strand RNA component of the COVID-19 genome, and cyclic ferrocenylnaphthalene diimides carrying different linker lengths 1 and 2, which bind to RG-1 more strongly than cyclic naphthalene diimide 3 that lacks a ferrocene moiety. In particular, the binding affinity of 1 having short one showed the highest binding affinity to RG-1, and the redox current of 1 increased in the presence of RG-1 using a glassy carbon electrode. This increasing current of 1 in the presence of c-myc as a parallel G4 DNA or single-stranded RNA was lower than that in the presence of RG-1. Several RG-1 was electrochemically detected at the nanomolar level by 1.