Field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensors allow label-free detection of biomolecules by measuring their intrinsic charges. The detection limit of these sensors is determined by the Debye screening of the charges from counter ions in solutions. Here, we use FETs with a deformed monolayer graphene channel for the detection of nucleic acids. These devices with even millimeter scale channels show an ultra-high sensitivity detection in buffer and human serum sample down to 600 zM and 20 aM, respectively, which are ∼18 and ∼600 nucleic acid molecules. Computational simulations reveal that the nanoscale deformations can form ‘electrical hot spots’ in the sensing channel which reduce the charge screening at the concave regions. Moreover, the deformed graphene could exhibit a band-gap, allowing an exponential change in the source-drain current from small numbers of charges. Collectively, these phenomena allow for ultrasensitive electronic biomolecular detection in millimeter scale structures.
Photonic sensors that are able to detect and track biochemical molecules offer powerful tools for information acquisition in applications ranging from environmental analysis to medical diagnosis. The ultimate aim of biochemical sensing is to achieve both quantitative sensitivity and selectivity. As atomically thick films with remarkable optoelectronic tunability, graphene and its derived materials have shown unique potential as a chemically tunable platform for sensing, thus enabling significant performance enhancement, versatile functionalization and flexible device integration. Here, we demonstrate a partially reduced graphene oxide (
- Publication Date:
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10153663
- Journal Name:
- Light: Science & Applications
- Volume:
- 8
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2047-7538
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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