ELECTROCHEMICAL BIOSENSORS AS A TOOL FOR INVESTIGATION OF DNA STRUCTURE, DAMAGE AND INTERACTION WITH OTHER MOLECULES

Abstract

At present state electrochemical methods are able to detect DNA at namomolar concentration. A great progress is achieved in recent years in the development of electrochemical sensors for DNA sequences, hybridization and damage. Also, the existence of covalent and non-covalent binding interactions between DNA and different small molecules, like drugs and other potentially mutagenic agents, suggested that these biosensors are becoming important tools in medical research. The aim of this work is to present electrochemical techniques and their application with the aim to achieve two fundamental goals; a deeper knowledge of the nature of the interactions, and their application to the design of new sensitive and selective biosensors.