Gold nanoparticle-assisted plasmonic enhancement for DNA detection on a graphene-based portable surface plasmon resonance sensor

The impact of different gold nanoparticle (GNP) structures on plasmonic enhancement for DNA detection is investigated on a few-layer graphene (FLG) surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor. Two distinct structures of gold nano-urchins (GNu) and gold nanorods (GNr) were used to bind the uniquely designed single-stranded probe DNA (ssDNA) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA. The two types of GNP-ssDNA mixture were adsorbed onto the FLG-coated SPR sensor through the π-π stacking force between the ssDNA and the graphene layer. In the presence of complementary single-stranded DNA, the hybridization process took place and gradually removed the probes from the graphene surface. From SPR sensor preparation, the annealing process of the Au layer of the SPR sensor effectively enhanced the FLG coverage leading to a higher load of the probe DNA onto the sensing interface. The FLG was shown to be effective in providing a larger surface area for biomolecular capture due to its roughness. Carried out in the DNA hybridization study with the SPR sensor, GNu, with its rough and spiky structures, significantly reinforced the overall DNA hybridization signal compared with GNr with smooth superficies, especially in capturing the probe DNA. The DNA hybridization detection assisted by GNu reached the femtomolar range limit of detection. An optical simulation validated the extreme plasmonic field enhancement at the tip of the GNu spicules. The overall integrated approach of the graphene-based SPR sensor and GNu-assisted DNA detection provided the proof-of-concept for the possibility of tuberculosis disease screening using a low-cost and portable system to be potentially applied in remote or third-world countries.