Detection of non-amplified Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomic DNA using piezoelectric DNA-based biosensors.

Piezoelectric DNA-based biosensor technology was developed as a new method for detection of M. tuberculosis. This method consists of immobilizing a thiol-modified oligonucleotide probe on the gold electrode surface of a quartz crystal, using a self-assembled monolayer method. The advantage of this study is that a non-amplified genomic bacterial DNA target was used. Instead, the genomic DNA was digested by restriction enzyme to obtain DNA fragments containing the target sequence. The fabricated biosensor was evaluated through an examination of 200 samples. No cross hybridization were observed against M. avium complex and other microorganisms. This target DNA preparation, without PCR amplification, will reduce time, costs, and the tedious step of amplification.