DNA-damaging agents in the environment represent a serious danger to human health. We use a supercoiled DNA-modified mercury electrode as a fast-response biosensor for the detection of DNA strand cleaving agents. The sensor is based on a strong difference between the a.c. voltammetric responses of covalently closed circular (supercoiled) and of open circular (nicked) plasmid DNA. We show that the sensor can detect hydroxyl radicals in laboratory-prepared solutions and in various natural and industrial water samples. The sensor is also capable of detecting unknown DNA-damaging agents in industrial waters.

Institute of Biophysics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Královopolská 135 612 65 Brno Czech Republic

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Professor Emil Paleček: seven decades with electrodes and biomolecules at the Institute of Biophysics of the CAS