A Novel Photo-Induced Electrochemical Biosensing Method Based on Fluorescent Labeled Molecular Beacon

A novel photo-induced electrochemical biosensing method has been developed based on fluorescence quenching effect and electrochemical method. In this sensing strategy, the molecular beacon probes labeled with methylene blue were immobilized on the gold nanoparticles modified gold electrode surface firstly; then dopamine was assembled on the electrode surface through electrostatic interaction with gold nanoparticles. Under the continuous illumination, the fluorescence of the methylene blue was quenched by the gold nanoparticles before hybridization; after hybridization with the complementary DNA, methylene blue was far away from the gold nanoparticles and the fluorescence recovered, and then singlet oxygen was generated in the photosensitive reaction of methylene blue in the presence of dissolved oxygen. Singlet oxygen reacted with dopamine, which resulted in the reduction of concentration of the dopamine on the electrode surface. The current of the dopamine on the electrode was used for the sensing of the conformational change of molecular beacon and hence for the detection of target DNA.