Surface modification of nanogold particles in DNA detection with quartz crystal microbalance

Nanogold particles in different sizes, from 5 to 60 nm, were utilized to modify the surface of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). It was found that the gold-particle size of the modified QCM affects both the amount of the immobilization of the probe on the surface of QCM and the hybridization rate of the target DNA. 20 nm was determined to be the optimal size for the surface modification and it can maximally increase the sensitivity of the DNA detection.