Mimicking enzymatic effects of cytochrome P450 by an efficient biosensor for in vitro detection of DNA damage.

A novel biosensor for detecting DNA damage induced by benzo(a)pyrene (BP) and its metabolite was presented in this work. The nafion-solubilized single wall carbon nanotubes-ionic liquid (SWCNTs-NA-IL) composite film was prepared and then horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and double-stranded DNA were alternately assembled on the composite film by the layer-by-layer method. The biosensor was characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and computational methods. UV-vis spectrophotometry was also used to investigate DNA damage induced by BP and its metabolites in solution. The DNA biosensor was treated separately in BP, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and in their mixture, respectively. The EIS analysis showed a decrease in the charge transfer resistance at the DNA/HRP/SWCNTs-NA-IL/GCE incubated in a mixture of HRP and H2O2, because HRP in the presence of H2O2 could mimic enzymatic effects of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) to metabolize BP which could cause significant DNA damage and the exposed DNA bases reduced the electrostatic repulsion of the negatively charged redox probe and leads to Faradaic impedance changes. Finally, a novel biosensor for BP determination was developed and this method provided an indirect, and quantitative estimation of DNA damage in vitro.