Scanning electrochemical microscopy of genomic DNA microarrays―study of adsorption and subsequent interactions

The adsorption of genomic DNA and subsequent interactions between adsorbed and solvated DNA have been studied using scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). Microarrays of polyethylenimine (PEI) films could be deposited on screen-printed carbon substrates using the SECM. Single stranded herring DNA was electrostatically adsorbed at the surface of the polyethylenimine. The further adsorption of complementary single stranded DNA on the surface was observed to give rise to substantial decreases in interfacial impedance at the surface as measured by increases of tip current of the order of 1-2 nA (6%). Conversely adsorption of DNA from alternate species, i.e. salmon ssDNA on herring ssDNA, yielded much smaller changes in tip current of 0.2 nA. The significance of this work is that the approach opens up the possibility for direct label-free electrochemical interrogation of DNA microarrays as an alternative to other existing optical techniques.