The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Allyn C Ontko

H Holden Thorp

An electrode and method of preparing an electrode by electropolymerizing a film on the conductive working surface of an electrode. The electrode is modified by reductive electropolymerization of a thin film of poly&lsqb;Ru(vbpy),&rsqb; or poly&lsqb;Ru(vbpy),/vba&rsqb; (vbpy&equals;4-vinyl-4&prime;methyl-2,2&prime;-bipyridine and vba&equals;p-vinylbenzoic acid) and the electrode is used for the electrochemical detection of aqueous GMP, poly&lsqb;G&rsqb;, and surface immobilized single-stranded DNA probes. The film is formed from a co-polymer of a mediator such as Ru(vbpy),and a functionalized moiety having a carboxylate group such as p-vinylbenzoic acid. A DNA probe is attached covalently to the carboxylate group via a carbodiimide reaction followed by amidation of an amino-linked single-stranded DNA. In the presence of these guanine containing moieties, a dramatic enhancement in the oxidative current for the Ru,couple (present in the polymeric thin film) due to the catalytic oxidation of guanine is observed.

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Iowa City, IA, United States of America

Allyn C Ontko