DNA biomolecular-electronic encoder and decoder devices constructed by multiplex biosensors

By Di Kang, Ryan J. White, Fan Xia, Xiaolei Zuo, A. Vallée‐Bélisle, K. Plaxco. 2012

139 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We fabricated and tested encoders and decoders based on a multiplex, DNA-based electrochemical biosensor that uses electronic (electrochemical) signals as its readout. These devices use two or more sequence-specific DNA probes, with each being modified with a distinct redox reporter. These probes, when interrogated together, serve as encoders and decoders, converting patterns that are encoded and decoded by the presence or absence of specific DNA sequences into specific electronic outputs. We demonstrated these multifunctional, bio-electrochemical devices, for example, 4-to-2 and 8-to-3 encoders and 1-to-2 and 2-to-3 decoders. Accordingly, these devices bridge the division between DNA-based devices and silicon-based electronics. Fan Xia and co-workers have converted biomolecular information – the presence or absence of DNA strands – into electronic currents by assembling electrochemical sensors. Each sensor is composed of an electrode, a DNA strand and a redox reporter – such as anthraquinone, methylene blue or ferrocene – and responds to the presence of one particular DNA strand by a change in its redox current. A set of sensors were designed to respond to different DNA strands by emitting distinct currents, and combining these sensors in various ways led to a series of encoding and decoding devices. While systems previously developed had typically given fluorescent outputs, this electrochemical approach moves DNA-based devices a step closer to their silicon-based electronic counterparts, and could potentially become components in DNA-based data processors. We have fabricated and tested encoders and decoders based on a multiplex, DNA-based electrochemical biosensor that uses electronic (electrochemical) signals as its readout. We have demonstrated these multifunctional, bio-electrochemical devices, for example, 4-to-2 and 8-to-3 encoders and 1-to-2 and 2-to-3 decoders. In doing so, these devices bridge the barrier between DNA-based devices and silicon-based electronics.

Subfields: Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b87f4eea5390887758220986d015c94daa2a9891