Study of interactions between DNA and aflatoxin B1 using electrochemical and fluorescence methods

In this study, a carbon paste electrode modified with N-butylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate (BPPF₆) ionic liquid and DNA was introduced as an electrochemical biosensor to study the interaction between DNA and aflatoxin B1 molecules. For this purpose, variations in oxidation peak current of guanine in various concentrations of aflatoxin B1 were measured by using the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) method. According to this study, the binding constant of DNA–aflatoxin B1 was found to be 3.5 × 10⁶ M⁻¹. This modified electrode was also used for determination of low concentrations of aflatoxin B1 by using differential pulse voltammetry. A linear dynamic range from 8.00 × 10⁻⁸ to 5.91 × 10⁻⁷ M and a limit of detection of 2.00 × 10⁻⁸ M resulted from DPV measurements. To confirm our results, a fluorescence study was also performed. It resulted in a binding constant of 2.8 × 10⁶ M⁻¹, which is in good agreement with that obtained from electrochemical study.