Abstract
Transistors Platform for Rapid and Parallel Detection of Multiple Pathogens by Multiplexed Biological tSPL Activation
A variety of global health threats, such as highly infectious viruses, chronic diseases, and increasing prevalence of antibiotics-resistant pathogens, require rapid tests which can be performed by the patient. Field-effect transistors (FETs) configured as biosensors serve as a suitable platform, compatible with modern semiconductor manufacturing, for label-free rapid sensing by converting interactions between target analytes and surfaces into real-time electrical signals. However, the application of FET-based sensors for highly parallel detection of multiple distinct pathogens or biomarkers remains elusive. At present, functionalization of FET based biosensors is achieved by drop casting without any spatial selectivity. Therefore, a critical need is a CMOS-compatible and scalable surface chemistry fabrication strategy that can allow modification of each FET on a chip on-demand with distinct pathogen/biomarker-specific bioreceptors, such as antibodies and aptamers. Overcoming this challenge will enable portable and wearable rapid diagnostic tests with unprecedented capabilities. Here, we introduce a scalable, CMOS compatible functionalization strategy, applicable to any FET material, permitting local chemical modification of individual nanoscale FETs on the same chip with different bioreceptors from antibodies to aptamers, at sub-20 nm resolution and 200 nm pitch, a distance comparable to the pitch of modern FETs array in CMOS chip. Our strategy involves the use of thermal scanning probe lithography (tSPL) with a thermochemically sensitive custom-developed polymethacrylate-carbamate-cinnamate copolymer (PMCC). We demonstrate the capability of this strategy through multiplexed functionalization with different bioreceptors at nanoscale precision. In a typical FET biosensor, the detection occurs by recording the change in charge near the channel region, due to the trapping of a target analyte by a specific bioreceptor. We show that changes in charge at the surface of the polymer covering the FET channel equally give rise to detectable electronic signals by capacitively coupling through the polymer film. Furthermore, the ability to pattern individual FET allows for in-situ differential sensing, a key ingredient to ensure signal fidelity. The feasibility of this platform is established by testing antibody- and aptamer-modified FET sensors fabricated using this polymer-based FET biofunctionalization approach.
Biography
Elisa Riedo is Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at New York University Tandon School of Engineering. She is also Professor of Physics at NYU College of Arts and Science and affiliated Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Previously, Riedo was Professor of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 2003 to 2015. She graduated summa cum laude in Physics at the University of Milano, and obtained a Ph.D. in Physics in 2000 with a joint thesis between the University of Milano, and the European Synchrotron Research Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. She then worked as postdoctoral fellow at the Ecole Polytechnic Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. She is particularly well known for her pioneering work in thermal scanning probe lithography (t-SPL), a novel and sustainable nanofabrication technique with applications in biomedicine, nanoelectronics, and magnetic materials. She has also made fundamental contributions in nanomechanics, graphene, diamene, 2D materials, and nano-confined water. She is widely published, and has received multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.