In the last decade, the synthesis of various nanomaterials such as nanowires, nanotubes and nanocrystals has attracted immense attention due to their potential to serve as building blocks for the development of nanoscale biosensor devices. In this work carbon nanotube (CNTs) thin films were designed and tested as working electrode for DNA immobilisation and for the development of an electrochemical genosensor. Carbon nanotubes are promising materials for DNA electrochemical sensing due to their unique electric properties: high surface area, fast heterogeneous electron transfer, electrochemical stability. Self-assembled aligned CNT thin films were prepared by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) onto silicon oxide substrate, using acetylene and ammonia as precursor gases and nickel particles as catalyst. The electrochemical characteristics of these surfaces were obtained studying the electron transfer rates of potassium ferricyanide redox couple under different experimental conditions in Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) experiments. Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (SECM) has been employed in the feedback mode to increase the information regarding the electrochemical behaviour of the carbon nanostructured materials. The surface was then functionalised with oligonucleotide DNA-probe by covalent immobilisation. The immobilised oligonucleotides are complementary to the sequence of the most common inserts in the GMOs: the Promoter 35S. The biosensor format involves the immobilisation of a probe onto the carbon nanotubes sensor surface, the hybridisation reaction and the square wave voltammetric detection of the duplex formation. Careful attention to the probe immobilisation conditions is crucial for minimizing the signal due to non-specifically adsorbed sequences. Other relevant experimental parameters such as ionic strength, hybridisation time, the use of hybridisation accelerators were examined and optimised.

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