Perylene-Based Photoactive Material as a Double-Stranded DNA Intercalating Probe for Ultrasensitive Photoelectrochemical Biosensing

Abstract

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing techniques have attracted considerable concerns because of the intrinsic merit of complete separation between the excitation light and responsive current but still remain a great challenge for further potential application. It is assigned to the scarcity of photoactive materials with narrow band gap, good biosafety, and high photon-to-electron conversion efficiency and unfavorable processing methods for photoactive materials on indium tin oxide. Herein, we employed a perylene-based polymer (PTC-NH2) with exceptional photoelectrical properties to develop a red-light-driven PEC sensor for ultrasensitive biosensing based on its superior electrostatic intercalation efficiency in double-stranded DNA to that in single-stranded DNA, with DNA adenine methyltransferase (Dam MTase) as the model target. The prepared PTC-NH2 was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and PEC techniques, and the results demonstrated that PTC-NH2 rather than metal oxides/metal sulfides/C3N4/metal complexes enjoyed the prominent capacity of converting light to current. Benefiting from the unique PEC properties of PTC-NH2 and target-initiated hybridization chain reaction (HCR) signal amplification, ultrasensitive detection of Dam MTase was accessibly realized with the detection limit of 0.015 U/mL, which is lower than that of PEC, electrochemical, or fluorescent biosensors previously reported. Furthermore, the proposed PEC sensor has been also applied in screening Dam MTase activity inhibitors. Therefore, the perylene-based PEC sensor exhibits great potential in early accurate diagnosis of DNA methylation-related diseases.

An Affinity-Enhanced DNA Intercalator with Intense ECL Embedded in DNA Hydrogel for Biosensing Applications

“…Specifically, the amphiphilic PTC-DEDA solutions with various concentrations were assembled into the DNA hydrogels. Moreover, other two intercalators, PTC-NH 2 (whose synthesis process is shown in SI Section 1.5) , and Ru­(bpy) 2 (dppz) 2+ were both selected as comparisons, since they could also intercalate into the DNA grooves and emit an ECL response. As shown in Figure A,C,E, the PTC-DEDA, PTC-NH 2 , and Ru­(bpy) 2 (dppz) 2+ all exhibited increased SWV responses with the addition of the intercalator until the trends were steady, but the PTC-DEDA showed a faster growth trend and a higher plateau.…”

Supramolecular Self-Assembly of Perylene Bisimide-Based Rigid Giant Tetrahedra

“…One simple strategy toward more precise 3D topologies and thus more elaborate self-assembled structures would be increasing the rigidity of building blocks and introducing noncovalent interactions. In recent years, perylene bisimides (PBIs) have been emerging as an archetype functional building block for supramolecular assemblies due to their self-assembled π-conjugated scaffolds and wide range of potential applications including organic electronics, − photovoltaics, − photonics, − and some biology-related applications. − The rigid polycyclic aromatic core of PBIs makes it an ideal candidate for the construction of 3D shaped tetrahedral building blocks. Typically, the strong π–π interaction among planar PBIs usually favors the formation of nanometer- or micrometer-scaled fibers or bundles in solution, , organo-gels, , or liquid crystalline phases. , …”

Polymer Based Functional Materials: A New Generation Photo‐active Candidate for Electrochemical Application

“…One of which includes the labeling of human cells through the involvement of specific antigens and antibodies where typical interaction occurs between positively charged polymer and negatively charged cell membrane [143]. Another important case of biosensing has been reported recently where the activity of poly(ADP‐ribose)polymerases (PARPs) has been critically monitored in terms of photocurrent density [144].…”