Here, a three-channel absorbance
sensor array based on the nanocurcumin–metal
ion (NCur–MI) aggregates is designed for the detection and
identification of deoxyribonucleic acid nucleobases (DNA NBs) for
the first time. For this purpose, the binding affinities of some of
MIs (i.e., Co
2+
, Cr
3+
, Cu
2+
, Fe
2+
, Fe
3+
, Hg
2+
, Mn
2+
, Ni
2+
, V
3+
, and Zn
2+
) to the NCur to induce
the aggregation were evaluated under various experimental conditions.
Further studies reveal that in the presence of DNA NBs, the aggregates
of NCur–Co
2+
, NCur–Ni
2+
, and NCur–Zn
2+
show the diverse absorbance responses to the deaggregation
of NCur depending on the binding affinity of each of DNA NBs to the
metal ions Co
2+
, Ni
2+
, and Zn
2+
.
These responses are distinguishable from one another. Thus, clear
differentiation among the DNA NBs is achieved by linear discriminant
analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis to generate clustering
maps. The discriminatory capacity of the sensor array for the identification
of the DNA NBs is tested in the ranges of 2.4–16 and 5.6–10.4
μM. Furthermore, a mixed set of the DNA NBs was prepared for
multivariate multicomponent analysis. Finally, the practicability
of the sensor array is confirmed by the discrimination of the DNA
NBs in an animal DNA sample. It should be noted that the proposed
array is the first example to fabricate an NCur-based sensor array
for the simultaneous detection of DNA NBs.