Nanobiosensors: Constraint of DNA on Functionalized Graphene Improves its Biostability and Specificity Small 11/2010

The cover picture shows how single-stranded DNA can be effectively and promptly adsorbed onto functionalized graphene via hydrophobic and π-stacking interactions. Interestingly, the absorbed single-stranded DNA can be effectively protected from enzymatic cleavage, which is encouraging for potential graphene-based biomedical applications involving complex cellular and biofluids samples. Anisotropy, fluorescence, NMR, and CD studies suggest that single-stranded DNA adsorbed onto functionalized graphene forms strong molecular interactions that prevent DNase I from approaching the constrained DNA. Furthermore, constraining a single-stranded DNA probe on graphene improves the specificity of its response to a target sequence. The unique features of DNA–graphene interactions are promising traits that may be exploited to construct DNA–graphene nanobiosensors with facile design, excellent sensitivity, selectivity, and biostability. For more information, please read the Communication “Constraint of DNA on Functionalized Graphene Improves its Biostability and Specificity” by Y. Lin et al., beginning on page 1205.