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CONDUCTING-POLYMER NANOWIRE IMMUNOSENSOR ARRAYS FOR MICROBIAL PATHOGENS
Impact/Purpose:
A promising approach for the direct (label-free) electrical detection of biological macromolecules uses one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures such as nanowires and nanotubes, configured as field-effect transistors that change conductance upon binding of charged macromolecules to receptors linked to the device surfaces. Combined with simple, rapid and label-free detection, potentially to single molecule, these nanosensors are also attractive due to the small size, low power requirement and most of all possibility of developing high density arrays for simultaneous analyses of multiple species. Although current nanosensor based on carbon nanotubes and silicon nanowires has elucidated the power of 1-D nanostructures as biosensors, they have low throughput and limited controllability and are unattractive for fabrication of high-density sensor arrays. More importantly, surface modifications, typically required to incorporate specific antibodies, have to be performed post-synthesis and post-assembly, limiting our ability to individually address each nanostructured sensing elements with the desired specificity.
The overall objective of the proposed research is to develop a novel technique for the facile fabrication of bioreceptor (antibody) -functionalized nanowires that are individually addressable and scalable to high-density biosensor arrays and to demonstrate its application for label-free, real-time, rapid, sensitive and cost-effective detection of multiple pathogens in water. Electropolymerization of conducting polymers between two contact electrodes is a versatile method for fabricating nanowire biosensor arrays with the required controllability. The benign conditions of electropolymerization enable the sequential deposition of conducting-polymer nanowires with embedded antibodies onto a patterned electrode platform, providing a revolutionary route to create a “truly” high-density and individually addressable nanowire biosensor arrays. The na
A promising approach for the direct (label-free) electrical detection of biological macromolecules uses one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures such as nanowires and nanotubes, configured as field-effect transistors that change conductance upon binding of charged macromolecules to receptors linked to the device surfaces. Combined with simple, rapid and label-free detection, potentially to single molecule, these nanosensors are also attractive due to the small size, low power requirement and most of all possibility of developing high density arrays for simultaneous analyses of multiple species. Although current nanosensor based on carbon nanotubes and silicon nanowires has elucidated the power of 1-D nanostructures as biosensors, they have low throughput and limited controllability and are unattractive for fabrication of high-density sensor arrays. More importantly, surface modifications, typically required to incorporate specific antibodies, have to be performed post-synthesis and post-assembly, limiting our ability to individually address each nanostructured sensing elements with the desired specificity.
The overall objective of the proposed research is to develop a novel technique for the facile fabrication of bioreceptor (antibody) -functionalized nanowires that are individually addressable and scalable to high-density biosensor arrays and to demonstrate its application for label-free, real-time, rapid, sensitive and cost-effective detection of multiple pathogens in water. Electropolymerization of conducting polymers between two contact electrodes is a versatile method for fabricating nanowire biosensor arrays with the required controllability. The benign conditions of electropolymerization enable the sequential deposition of conducting-polymer nanowires with embedded antibodies onto a patterned electrode platform, providing a revolutionary route to create a “truly” high-density and individually addressable nanowire biosensor arrays. The n
Description:
The lack of methods for routine rapid and sensitive detection and quantification of specific pathogens has limited the amount of information available on their occurrence in drinking water and other environmental samples. The nanowire biosensor arrays developed in this study would improve the ability to provide rapid and ultrasensitive quantification of pathogens. The end results of this research will be a nanoelectronic sensor for rapid, sensitive, selective and reliable detection of multiple important viruses simultaneously that will be useful not only for water and environmental monitoring but also homeland security, health care, and food safety. Additionally, the technique of hierarchical assembly of high density nanowire arrays developed in this research will also find application in the rapidly advancing fields of proteomics and genomics.