Abstract
M.Sc. (Chemistry)
With the increase in the number of new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and mortality rate worldwide partly due to diagnostic drawbacks which gives false negatives during the window period, it is imperative to find an alternative method of detection. The need for prompt, bed-side and field applicable analytical devices for biomedical purposes cannot be over emphasized in our fast paced world today. As a contribution to meeting these challenges, this dissertation reports (i) the development of novel electrochemical DNA/RNA aptamer biosensor for HIV sensing and (ii) the development of other DNA sequence specific electrochemical biosensors. These biosensors were based on composite platforms of dendrimer and gold nanoparticles...