Detection of oligonucleotides based on terahertz spectroscopy and microstructure

DNA mutations are analyzed by terahertz (THz) spectroscopy in a label-free manner. The 5 base mutations from the 3'-terminus on single stranded 17nt oligonucleotides have first been detected based on the microchannel. The mutations have also been validated based on the split-ring resonators (SRRs). The results clearly demonstrate the ability of THz spectroscopy combined with microstructure for label-free detection of base mutations of DNA biomolecules. This study has proved that the THz spectroscopy can be considered as a prospective diagnostic tool for studying the interaction of molecules such as DNA mutations.