Title: Temperature Control in Electrochemical DNA Sensing
VOLUME: 1 ISSUE: 4
Author(s):Martin Jacobsen and Gerd-Uwe Flechsig
Affiliation:University of Rostock, Department of Chemistry, Dr.-Lorenz-Weg 1, 18059 Rostock, Germany.
Keywords:DNA, electrochemical sensor, temperature, polymerase chain reaction, immobilization, hybridization, PCR amplification, thermocycler, UV-spectroscopy, spectroscopy
Abstract: This paper reviews reports that have considered temperature as an important parameter in electrochemical DNA detection. Only a couple of years after the electrochemical activity of DNA had been discovered in 1958, oscillopolarography in a thermostated cell was applied to study thermal behavior of DNA double strands. DNA premelting was discovered and denaturation curve analysis established. Later it was found that heated electrodes allow simple and easy control over temperature during accumulation, hybridization, dehybridization, and detection. Electrochemical melting curve analysis has been reported recently as an alternative to the classic UV-spectrophotometric counterpart. Most recent developments include electrochemical real time PCR.