Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer Based Biosensor for Rapid and Sensitive Gene-Specific Determination

Integration of nanomaterial and biomolecular recognition is a promising direction in nanotechnology to develop novel molecular analytical and diagnostic techniques. This work reports a biosensor for rapid and sensitive gene-specific detection based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The gene specific detection was employed interactions between graphene oxide and DNA molecules. Due to noncovalent bonding of single stranded DNA with graphene oxide, the fluorescence of the dye on the molecular probe was quenched with high efficiency; however, in the presence of the specific target, the fluorescence of the biosensing system recovered with a high signal-to-background ratio. The nanobiosensor exhibited high sensitivity and excellent specificity in the determination of a gene for hepatitis B virus MD26. The polymeric material polyvinylpyrrolidone was shown to enhance the limit of detection for specific genes. With the advantages of simple, rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive determination, the graphene oxide based nanobiosensor is a promising tool for molecular recognition in clinical diagnosis.