Insights into the electrochemical behaviour of brominated RNA nucleobases at microband screen-printed graphite electrodes

Casanova, A, Gomis-Berenguer, A, Banks, CE ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0756-9764 and Iniesta, J (2025) Insights into the electrochemical behaviour of brominated RNA nucleobases at microband screen-printed graphite electrodes. Electrochimica Acta, 524. 146000. ISSN 0013-4686

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Abstract

Nucleobases are nitrogenous compounds that form nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA and RNA. Modification of DNA and RNA through various epigenetic mechanisms can occur at different levels and plays a fundamental role in several biological processes; these modifications are significantly correlated with a variety of diseases related to changes in gene function and expression alterations. Different types of epigenetic modifications of nucleobases such as methylation, oxidation, and halogenation can occur, so interest in the rapid and simple techniques for detecting of these DNA and RNA nucleobase modifications has been growing in the recent decades. Hence, the aim of the research is to provide a useful tool to detect diseases or cellular dysfunctions at an early stage. This work will deal with the use of miniaturized electrochemical sensors for the detection of epigenetic modifications in nucleobases. For this purpose, the electrochemical response of graphite screen-printed platforms in two geometric configurations - disc and microband - was explored for the quantitative and qualitative determination of brominated nucleobases. A comprehensive analysis of the electrochemical behaviour of the halogenated and non-halogenated nucleobases was carried out, focusing on the effect on the geometry of the working electrode. At last, an identification of brominated nucleobases in synthetic mixed solutions was performed.