Nanoporous niobium oxide for label-free detection of DNA hybridization events

We found that DNA probes can be immobilized on anodically prepared porous niobium oxide without a chemical modification of both the DNA probes and the substrate. By using the porous niobium oxide with a positive surface charge, DNA hybridization events are detected on the basis of the blue-shift of a maximum absorption peak in UV–vis-NIR spectroscopy. The blue-shift is ascribed to the change of surface charge upon single- or double-stranded DNA. The method does not require a label and shows high sensitivity with the detection limit of the concentration of 1 nM.