Ge 8 ofcolorimetric changes were monitored at 650 nm over 30 min on the EnSpire?plate reader (Perkin Elmer, Australia). Absorbance values at 20 min were used in subsequent data analysis.Gene-specific assaysusing ampometry at 150 mV over 30s on a potentiostat (CH Instruments, USA). Current response at 10 s was used for subsequent analysis.Additional fileFor gene-specific applications, 19 L of digested DNA was used for MBD enrichment in a modified protocol. Briefly, one tenth of the recommended MBD/bead mix was used in a 100-L reaction. MBD buffer (1?, MBD buffer (1.25? or MBD buffer (1.25? supplemented with 50 ng of salmon sperm DNA (Sigma Aldrich, Australia) was used for a 15-min MBD enrichment step at 4 . After three 5-min washes with 1?MBD buffer, the captured DNA was eluted in 5 L 2.5 M NaCl solution. To purify the enriched DNA for downstream amplification, 10 L of Agencourt AMPure XP bead solution was added to the same tube and purification proceeded as recommended by the manufacturer. The purified DNA was finally eluted in 20 L water. The remaining 1 L of digested DNA was diluted tenfold in water and used as input controls in subsequent amplifications. To detect gene-specific methylation, the isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification [35] (RPA, TwistDx, UK) was employed to amplify the GSTP1 locus with primers described above in a modified RPA protocol. Briefly, 1 L of gDNA from the PubMed ID:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27362935 above step was used for each 12.5 L RPA reaction supplemented with 10 M biotin-14-dUTP and 7 mM MgOAc at 37 for 15 min. After amplification, 12.5 L of Agencourt AMPure XP bead solution was used to remove excess biotin and purify amplicons. The purified amplicons were eluted in 15 L of water where 3 L was subjected to gel electrophoresis to verify amplification. GSTP1 primers were as described earlier. ESR1 forward and reverse primers were GTTCGTCCTGGGACT GCACTTGCTCCCGTC and AGATGCTTTGGTGTGG AGGGTCATGGTCATGGT, respectively. To detect amplicons colorimetrically, 1 L of purified amplicons was reacted with 20 L SA-HRP (1/2000 dilution in 1?PBS) and SA magnetic beads (1/20 dilution in 1?PBS, NEB) for 5 mins. After collecting DNAbound beads with a magnet and three 1?PBS washes, 50 L of TMB substrate solution was allowed to react with the captured HRP and absorbance readings were taken after a 15-min incubation.Electrochemical assayAdditional file 1: Colorimetric detection of both total genomic and loci specific DNA methylation from limited DNA inputs. Figure S1. Total genomic methylation assay. Figure S2. Total genomic assay specificity and variability assessment. Figure S3. Effect of MBD incubation time on enrichment performance. Figure S4. Gene specific assay variability assessment. Figure S5. Detecting methylation at the ESR1 gene. Figure S6. Representative ampometry profiles of the four prostate cancer samples (P1 to P4) used in this study. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ contributions EJHW and MT participated in the study conceptualization and experimental design. The experiments were performed by EJHW and THN. The manuscript was written by EJHW, MT and THN. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge funding received by our laboratories from the National Breast Cancer Thonzonium (bromide) site Foundation of Australia (CG-08-07 and CG-12-07). These grants have significantly contributed to the environment to stimulate the research described here. Author details 1 Cent.