Advanced Molecular Probes for Sequence-Specific DNA Recognition

DNA detection can be achieved using theWatson-Crick base pairing with oligonucleotides or oligonucleotide analogs, followed by generation of a physical or chemical signal coupled with a transducer device. The nature of the probe is an essential feature which determines the performances of the sensing device. Many synthetic processes are presently available for “molecular engineering” of DNA probes, enabling label-free and PCR-free detection to be performed. Furthermore, many DNA analogs with improved performances are available and are under development; locked nucleic acids (LNA), peptide nucleic acids (PNA) and their analogs, morpholino oligonucleotides (MO) and other modified probes have shown improved properties of affinity and selectivity in target recognition compared to those of simple DNA probes. The performances of these probes in sensing devices, and the requirements for detection of unamplified DNA will be discussed in this chapter. Chemistry and architectures for conjugation of probes to reporter units, surfaces and nanostructures will also be discussed. Examples of probes used in ultrasensitive detection of unamplified DNA are listed.