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Non-structural 1 (NS1) is a protein biomarker that can be found in blood in the early stages of dengue and related infections (Zika and Chikungunya). This study aims to develop a biosensor to selectively quantify NS1 using DNA aptamer co-immobilized on gold electrodes with 6-(ferrocenyl)hexanethiol (FCH) using electrochemical capacitive spectroscopy. This technique uses a redox probe (FCH) immobilized on the self-assembled monolayer to convert impedance into capacitance information. The developed platform was blocked with bovine serum albumin before NS1 exposure and the ratio between aptamers and FCH was optimized. The aptasensor was tested using commercial NS1 serotype 4 in phosphate-buffered saline and commercial undiluted human serum. Using the optimum applied potential provides high sensitivity (3 and 4 nF per decade) and low limit of detection (30.9 and 41.8 fg/mL) with a large linear range (10 pg to 1 µg/mL and 10 pg to 100 ng/mL, respectively). Both results exhibit a residual standard deviation value < 1%. The results suggested that this aptasensor was capable of detecting NS1 in the clinical range and can be applied to any other specific aptamer with FCH, opening the path for label-free miniaturized point-of-care devices with high sensitivity and specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are largely applied as bio‐ and ion‐sensor devices due to their performance in an aqueous environment with electrochemical doping/dedoping (reversible redox reactions) of the semiconducting layer through ion injection and also low (around 1 V) operation potentials. Aiming for the complementary circuits' development and improvement of the sensors device, we report the application of spin coated polyaniline (PANI) in ambipolar OECT. The OECT operation is based on electrochemical protonation/deprotonation of PANI upon applied gate potential that was verified by cyclic voltammograms (CV) of PANI sample. The device operates in accumulation mode with on‐currents on the milliampere range due to the use of interdigitated array (IDA) microelectrodes architecture with a larger active area. Acid (HCl) doped PANI were applied in OECT device for comparison, and it presented improved performance with increasing drain‐source current up to 38%, reaching 4.8 mA for the n‐type device. This current increase is due to the narrower bandgap of doped PANI that affects the injection barrier. The HCl doped PANI was evaluated by UV‐Vis spectrophotometry and CV analysis. Using deionized water as electrolyte defunctionalized the PANI‐based OECT (no current modulation observed) because the absence of ions in the electrolyte interrupts the electrochemical doping. This is the opposite for the poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT)‐based electrolyte‐gated organic field‐effect transistor (EGOFET) due to the polymeric hydrophobicity nature that allows for field‐effect modulation in the electrolyte/semiconductor interface. The results presented may open new possibilities for bio‐ and ion‐sensors devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maximum sensitivity of pH sensors is given by the Nernst equation, and its theoretical value is 59.2 mV pH−1. However, countless sensors developed and reported in the literature have their sensitivity higher than the Nernstian limit. These are called super-Nernstian sensors. To understand the causes of this behavior, the sensitivity of polyaniline thin films was studied by evaluation of an important parameter: the hydration of the film's surface. Sensitivities were measured before and after varied heat treatments, and the sensor's parameters were associated with the amount of water lost in the process. Polyaniline thin films were fabricated by galvanostatic electrodeposition in aqueous solution, and their sensitivity was measured before and after heating of the samples. An endothermic process, typical of evaporation, was revealed by the analysis of mass loss during the heating process. A decrease in the sensitivity of the films was observed after heating process. For comparison, polyaniline thin films were also fabricated by spin coating, in the absence of water, and their sensitivity proved to be smaller than for the galvanostatically fabricated ones and it did not change significantly after the heating processes. The results indicated that the Nernst model can be adjusted using a parameter ( 1 / r ) related to the hydration of the surface of the sample, which directly affects the sensitivity of the thin films. The lowest reachable 1 / r value for samples containing no water is approximately 0.9. The parameter also describes the upper limits for the sensitivity of super-Nernstian sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucose and urea enzymatic biosensors were fabricated. One-step electrochemical immobilization process was used to produce thin polyaniline films with entrapped enzymes. Chronopotentiometric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and optical reflectance spectroscopy were used to determine the structure-property relationship of the functionalized polymeric thin films. The device has a recognition stage connected to a potentiometric field-effect-transistor stage and is based on the measurement of microenvironment pH variation or locally produced ions. Optimization of biosensor fabrication and effective measurement conditions were performed. The optimized films presented sensitivity, linearity and detection range to glucose of 14.6 ± 0.4 mV/decade, 99.8% and from 10−4 M to 10−1 mol/L. Two different biosensors were produced based on the enzymatic reaction of urea with selectivity to ammonium or hydroxyl ions. For ammonium ion selective film, the sensor’s parameters were 14.7 ± 0.9 mV/decade, 98.2% and from 10−5 to 10−1 mol/L. For the hydroxyl ion selective film, the same parameters were 7.4 ± 0.5 mV/decade, 98.1% and from 10−5 to 10−1 mol/L. The change in the oxidation state of the polymeric matrix explains: i) the large loss of functionality of glucose biosensor in time, ii) the conservation of functionality to the hydroxyl ions for urea biosensor and iii) the selectivity variation of the ammonium ion selective urea biosensor. The results indicate that the polymeric matrix has indeed changeable selectivity, what can be applied in different situations for biosensors production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucose oxidase (GOx) was immobilized on vanadium pentoxide xerogel (V2O5) onto a carbon-based screen-printed electrode to evaluate the possibility of constructing a V2O5/GOx biosensor. Structural characterizations of V2O5/GOx demonstrated a weak interaction between the species. Cyclic voltammetry results for V2O5/GOx after immobilization in 4.4 mmol/L of glucose, pH 5, in PBS medium indicated a stability tendency after several cycles and also an increase of total charge. The use of an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance technique evidenced a mass loss after several cycles. Experimental studies using variations of glucose concentration and electrical characterization by extended gate field effect transistors is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Galvanostatic electrodeposited thin films of polyaniline (PANI)/polypyrrole (PPY) blend were tested as chemical sensors and evaluated according to the relative monomer concentration in polymerization solution aiming to obtain a reliable reference field‐effect transistor able to be used as contrast sensing film. The blend material presented properties that can be controlled by the polymerization process. The films were produced using aniline (0.25 M) and pyrrole (0.25 M) mixed in five different proportions (90/10, 70/30, 50/50, 30/70, 10/90) with HCl (1.0 M) in an aqueous solution. The current density was 1 mA/cm2 for 300 s. The films were analyzed by their chronopotentiometric curves, thickness, reflectance spectroscopy, optical color parameters, and surface morphology. The characteristics and properties analyzed were correlated to the relative monomer concentration in the polymerization solution. The polymerization of PANI is favorable in aqueous acid solution compared to PPY, which resulted in thin films with properties varying from PANI down to PPY. The blend films presented controllable sensitivity when applied as sensing stage in field‐effect transistor devices as function of the relative monomer concentration. The sensitivity varied from 57 ± 1 mV/pH for the PANI sample, down to 25 ± 1 mV/pH for the PPY sample, presenting an exponential behavior. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46625. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorine-doped tin oxide (SnO:F) was used as the ion-sensing layer of an EGFET-pH sensor. The effective area affects the final results, as well as the sensor surface potential and sensitivity. The sensor miniaturization is highly required on medical applications, with that the effective area must be properly understood. Routine insertion and removal of total and partial surface areas in buffer solution were analyzed and compared. The results show that the routine changes considerable the sensor sensitivity. Variations in the double layer, Helmholtz plane, and Gouy-Chapman region play a significant role. The final sensitivities of the samples were compared with values available in the literature, even for other materials. The role that area normalization plays in quality assessment is discussed for proper future technological miniaturizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process complexity of a micromachined device is directly related to the number of layers needed. Miniature planar fluxgate magnetic sensors commonly use two or more layers of coils. The manufacture process of micromachined planar fluxgate sensors with all the coils contained in a single metal layer is here presented. The NiFe cores were electroplated through photoresist molds. Characterization in respect to noise levels and sensitivity are detailed discussed. Noise levels down to 40-nT rms in the 0.1-10 Hz range were achieved. Two different layouts are presented and one of them has the potential to further noise level reduction just by increasing either the excitation amplitude or the coils pitch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of pH sensors is of great interest due to its extensive application in several areas such as industrial processes, biochemistry and particularly medical diagnostics. In this study, the pH sensing properties of an extended gate field effect transistor (EGFET) based on melanin thin films as active layer are investigated and the physical mechanisms related to the device operation are discussed. Thin films were produced from different melanin precursors on indium tin oxide (ITO) and gold substrates and were investigated by Atomic Force Microscopy and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. Experiments were performed in the pH range from 2 to 12. EGFETs with melanin deposited on ITO and on gold substrates showed sensitivities ranging from 31.3 mV/pH to 48.9 mV/pH, depending on the melanin precursor and the substrate used. The pH detection is associated with specific binding sites in its structure, hydroxyl groups and quinone imine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Extended Gate Field Effect Transistor (EGFET) is a device composed of a conventional ion-sensitive electrode and a MOSFET device, which can be applied for the measurement of ion content in a solution. The EGFET is fabricated connecting the sensitive membrane to a commercial MOSFET. We investigated the use of fluorine-doped tin oxide films (FTO) as sensitive membrane to EGFET. The commercial FTO shows a low resistivity and a crystalline structure, both determined using conductivity set-up and X-ray diffraction experiments, respectively. So far, it has been known that an amorphous structure is desirable to obtain high sensitivity. Despite of the a crystalline structure, we have fabricated the FTO as EGFET for pH sensor and carried out experiments in order to obtain the response of the device inserted into solutions with pH values from 2 up to 12. In this range, we have quantified a sensitivity of 50 mV/pH, which may have large potential applications as pH and biosensors. In addition, both the film and the structure of the sensor are cheaper and easier to make than in common techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous glucose monitoring is still a challenging task to be accomplished nowadays. Glucose biosensors are normally composed by disposable parts limiting the glucose measurement to one single time. A continuous glucose monitoring device could help diabetes patients and also the development of an artificial pancreas in near future. Thus, two different biosensors for continuous glucose monitoring based on microelectronics technology using an extended gate field-effect transistor device are presented in this work. Glucose oxidase was immobilized on top of fluorine tin oxide substrates by two distinct methods (by chitosan and by glutaraldehyde) and the enzymatic sensor will be shown to work for the continuous glucose monitoring for glucose concentrations corresponding to a healthy human body. Concentration ranges for normal or abnormal levels were both tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial regulatory roles in various human diseases including cancer, making them promising biomarkers. However, given the low levels of miRNAs present in blood, their use as cancer biomarkers requires the development of simple and effective analytical methods. Herein, we report the development of a highly sensitive dual mode electrochemical platform for the detection of microRNAs. The platform was developed using peptide nucleic acids as probes on gold electrode surfaces to capture target miRNAs. A simple amplification strategy using gold nanoparticles has been employed exploiting the inherent charges of the nucleic acids. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to monitor the changes in capacitance upon any binding event, without the need for any redox markers. By using thiolated ferrocene, a complementary detection mode on the same sensor was developed where the increasing peaks of ferrocene were recorded using square wave voltammetry with increasing miRNA concentration. This dual-mode approach allows detection of miRNA with a limit of detection of 0.37 fM and a wide dynamic range from 1 fM to 100 nM along with clear distinction from mismatched target miRNA sequences. The electrochemical platform developed can be easily expanded to other miRNA/DNA detection along with the development of microarray platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]