Abstract
Supramolecular interactions of various organic xenobiotic compounds with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are among the most important aspects of biological studies in clinical analysis, drug discovery, and pharmaceutical development processes. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the electrochemical investigation of interactions between a studied analyte and DNA.
Observing the pre- and post-electrochemical signals of DNA or monitoring its interaction with xenobiotics provides good evidence for the interaction mechanism to be elucidated. Such interaction can also be used for sensitive determination of these compounds.
This short review summarizes our results obtained during the last 5 years in the field of novel electrochemical DNA biosensors utilizing carbon-based transducers as substrates for immobilization of DNA. It should provide evidence that the electrochemical approach (employing simple, fast, sensitive, and inexpensive DNA biosensors as tools for investigation and detection of DNA damage) brings new insight into human health protection or rational drug design and leads to further understanding of the interaction mechanism between xenobiotic compounds and DNA.