Electrochemical analysis of nucleic acids at boron-doped diamond electrodes

Highly conductive boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes are well suited for performing electrochemical measurements of nucleic acids in aqueous solution under diffusion-only control. The advantageous properties of this electrodic material in this context include reproducibility and the small background currents observed at very positive potentials, along with its robustness under extreme conditions so offering promising capabilities in future applications involving thermal heating or ultrasonic treatment. tRNA, single and double stranded DNA and 2′-deoxyguanosine 5′-monophosphate (dGMP) have been studied and well defined peaks were observed in all cases, directly assignable to the electro-oxidation of deoxyguanosine monophosphate.