Current Organic Chemistry - Volume 15, Issue 4, 2011

DNA detection is among the most important and fundamental techniques in molecular biology. More significantly, detection of DNA targets is increasingly important in various application areas such as medical diagnostics, food safety and antibioterrorism. While there have been numerous DNA assay kits in the market, mostly based on polymerase chain reactions (PCR), there have been ever-growing efforts to develop new Read More

The most widely studied cationic polyfluorene homopolymers and copolymers are fluorene-containing conjugated polymers with quarternary amine groups on side chains which render them soluble in polar solvents. This review summarizes the polymer structures and various synthetic methods to water-soluble polyfluorenes (PF) and their derivatives which include poly(fluorene-cophenylene)s, poly(fluorene-co-benzothiadiazole)s, Read More

Nucleic acids are unique molecular recognition elements in biosensors having targets that range from ions, small molecules, peptides, proteins and DNA/RNA to virus and whole cells. Pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic compound with very special photophysical characteristics, including long fluorescence lifetime, high quantum yield, and the capability of forming excited state dimers with large Stokes shift. In recent years, pyr Read More

Microcantilever based biosensors have attracted much attention as a label-free, real-time and highly sensitive approach to the detection of biomolecules. When specific biomolecular interactions occur between a receptor immobilized on one side of a cantilever and a target analyte in solution, a mechanical bending of the cantilever results due to a change in surface stress, thereby translating biochemical interactions i Read More

A range of nanometer-sized materials such as metal nanoparticles, semiconductor quantum dots, metal oxide nanostructures, carbon nanomaterials and polymer nanoparticles, have been introduced into polymerase chain reactions (PCR). They have shown to remarkably improve PCR amplification in sensitivity, specificity and extension rate. In this review, we will try to describe the development of nanomaterials-b Read More

Aptamers are with their selectivity and affinity for specific target ligands ideal biorecognition units for any biosensor development. The development of improved techniques for in vitro selection of aptamers with high affinities (comparable to antibodies) for target molecules has transformed aptamers from costly and restrictedly accessible species into readily synthetically available biorecognition material for alm Read More

Electrochemical DNA sensors have been increasingly fascinating due to high sensitivity, specificity, portability and integrated compatibilities with microelectronics. Numerous strategies have been developed to design electrochemical DNA sensors with high sensitivity and selectivity. In this review, we will focus on the efforts toward sensitive electrochemical DNA sensing based on nanomaterials including metal nanoparticles, Read More

Polydiacetylenes (PDAs) have gained much interest in recent years because of their distinctive chromatic transition property. The PDA molecules can be self-assembled into thin films or vesicles that could undergo blue-red transformations in response to different stimuli, like temperature, pH, and the presence of biological molecules. Due to this unique chromatic property, PDA materials have emerged as an attractive option fo Read More

Apart from providing the material for genetic information storage, DNA has also been regarded as a useful building block in the field of nanotechnology, which is known as DNA nanotechnology. Based on the Watson-Crick base-pairing and the famous double helical structure, a library of DNA 2D or 3D nanostructures has been designed, constructed and characterized, by either tile-based or origami- based self-assembly Read More

Signal amplification property and versatility in molecular design of conjugated polymers make them attractive as signal transducers for DNA detection both in homogenous solution as well as on solid support. The aim of the present article is to review recent efforts in the area of DNA biosensor on solid support that employ fluorescent conjugated polymer for signal transduction. Two solid support formats are commente Read More

The abundance of small molecules in biological systems, the wide-spread usage of synthetic small molecules as drugs and biological probes, and the escalation of industrial pollutants in our environment, underscore the importance of detection of small molecules for many disciplines. Functional nucleic acids (FNAs) are single-stranded DNA or RNA sequences that are capable of carrying out ligand binding (aptamers), c Read More

Synthesized nearly one century ago as a saccharine-like sweetener compound, the o-benzenedisulfonimide has received a discontinuous attention in the past. In the last century, various synthetic procedures have been reported, in confirmation of the interest in this intriguing compound. In recent years, it has been used as a leaving group in reactions of nucleophilic substitution of amines with alcohols or phenols to give the Read More