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Because the transition from oxidative phosphorylation to anaerobic glycolytic metabolism is a hallmark of cancer progression, approaches to identify single living cancer cells by their unique glucose metabolic signature would be useful. Here, we present nanopipettes specifically developed to measure glucose levels in single cells with temporal and spatial resolution, and we use this technology to verify the hypothesis that individual cancer cells can indeed display higher intracellular glucose levels. The nanopipettes were functionalized as glucose nanosensors by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) covalently to the tip so that the interaction of glucose with GOx resulted in a catalytic oxidation of β-d-glucose to d-gluconic acid, which was measured as a change in impedance due to drop in pH of the medium at the nanopipette tip. Calibration studies showed a direct relationship between impedance changes at the tip and glucose concentration in solution. The glucose nanosensor quantified single cell intracellular glucose levels in human fibroblasts and the metastatic breast cancer lines MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 and revealed that the cancer cells expressed reproducible and reliable increases in glucose levels compared to the nonmalignant cells. Nanopipettes allow repeated sampling of the same cell, as cells remain viable during and after measurements. Therefore, nanopipette-based glucose sensors provide an approach to compare changes in glucose levels with changes in proliferative or metastatic state. The platform has great promise for mechanistic investigations, as a diagnostic tool to distinguish cancer cells from nonmalignant cells in heterogeneous tissue biopsies, as well as a tool for monitoring cancer progression in situ.

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]

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]

Orthogonal fluxgates operated with a dc bias can achieve lower noise levels by suppressing Barkhausen jumps. We constructed and mathematically modeled a small orthogonal fluxgate consisting of a NiFe electroplated Cu wire, surrounded by a pick-up solenoid. A large dc current was applied through the wire to keep the core in constant saturation. This ensures that the main permeability modulation mechanism is magnetization rotation. Several output parameters were analyzed: sensitivity, noise and the perming error amplitude, all with respect to two input parameters, constant and alternating excitation field component. A good agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical model was found, with higher deviations appearing when the excitation field was not high enough to saturate the core and domain wall movement becomes relevant. Measured sensitivities were highly dependent on the excitation amplitudes, but mostly in the hundreds of V/T, and noise levels of about 0.75 nT in the 0.1–10 Hz range were found. As for the perming, the sensor zero readout can vary about 20 μT if subjected to magnetic shocks of up to 4.8 mT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galvanostaticaly electrodeposited polyaniline thin films were used as both potentiometric and optical pH chemical sensor. The galvanostatic deposition parameters were: deposited charge from 150 to 600 mC cm −2 , current density from 0.5 to 1.0 mA cm −2 and deposition time from 150 to 1200 s. The electrodeposited polyaniline thin films in these conditions presented passivation charge 150 ± 12 mC cm −2 . The variation of the deposition parameters led to the production of thin films with distinct properties and characteristics. Basically, they presented two distinct oxidation states. The set of films produced using a current density of 0.5 mA cm −2 showed the best performances for both sensors, reaching a sensitivity of 81 ± 1 mV pH −1 and 30 ± 3 pH −1 for the potentiometric and optical pH chemical sensor, respectively. This set of films presented the best performances because they had a partially oxidized structure, the emeraldine base, which has the largest protonation potential and reaches a high electrical conductivity. The understanding of the mechanisms involved in pH detection is discussed based on the structure-property relationship established by the characterization of the PANI thin films together with the polymer's electrochemical and optical mechanism of sensitivity to pH variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bias-enhanced reflective optochemical pH sensor with electrochromic polyaniline is presented. Polyaniline films were prepared by electrodeposition process, controlling the total amount of deposited charge by varying the deposition time. The electrochromic property of polyaniline was the main parameter for sensor development. A quick and easy reflective spectra measurement process was obtained using a handset spectrophotometer in the visible region. A film deposited for 120 min presented a linear response (sensitivity of 25/pH and linearity of 97%) for the integrated reflectance in the green band of the spectrum after insertion in buffer solutions with pH ranging from 2 to 8. The reflectance intensity increased by 92% for the applied bias voltage of 1000 mV. Sensitivity of the sensors increased by about 28% (32/pH) with applied bias voltage of 700 mV, and decreased by about 9% (29/pH) with applied bias voltage of 1000 mV. A corresponding slight decrease in linearity by about 4% (93%) was observed with applied bias voltage of 700 mV, which preserves the linearity value within a good range for use. The linearity decreases by about 20% (78%) with applied bias voltage of 1000 mV. Both facts together indicate the presence of an optimal operation point. The improvement in sensor performance is related to the bias effect over polyaniline protonation/deprotonation. The electrochromic property of the polyaniline films were investigated using the CIE L*a*b* color scale. The data indicated changes from the emeraldine base oxidation state of polyaniline, which is blue, in alkali medium, to the emeraldine salt conducting, which is green, in acid medium. Handset spectrophotometers can be used with PANI optochemical pH sensors working with reflective spectra. [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]

Vanadium/titanium mixed oxide films were produced using the sol-gel route. The structural investigation revealed that increased TiO2 molar ratio in the mixed oxide disturbs the V2O5 crystalline structure and makes it amorphous. This blocks the TiO2 phase transformation, so TiO2 stabilizes in the anatase phase. In addition the surface of the sample always presents larger amounts of TiO2 than expected, revealing a concentration gradient along the growth direction. For increased TiO2 molar ratios the roughness of the surface is reduced. Ion sensors were fabricated using the extended gate field effect transistor configuration. The obtained sensitivities varied in the range of 58 mV/pH down to 15 mV/pH according to the composition and morphology of the surface of the samples. Low TiO2 amounts presented better sensing properties that might be related to the cracked and inhomogeneous surfaces. Rising the TiO2 quantity in the films produces homogeneous surfaces but diminishes their sensitivities. Thus, the present paper reveals that the compositional and structural aspects change the surface morphology and electrical properties accounting for the final ion sensing properties of the V2O5/TiO2 films. [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]

Abstract: Since the first use of glass electrode to the detection of pH, many efforts have been made to develop new techniques and methods. In this study, the pH sensing properties of an extended gate field effect transistor (EGFET) based on the vanadium pentoxide xerogel thin film is investigated. The vanadium pentoxide was prepared by a sol–gel route. The X-ray diffractogram indicates the presence of a lamellar structure of the vanadium pentoxide xerogel films. The film was investigated as a sensor in the pH range of 2–12 and the corresponding EGFET has a sensitivity of 58.1mV/pH. This value suggests that the material is a promising candidate for applications as disposable biosensor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Detection of malignant cells in tissue is a difficult hurdle in medical diagnostics and screening. Carbon nanotubes are extremely sensitive to their local environments, and nanotube-based field-effect transistors (NTFETs) provide a plethora of information regarding the mechanism of interaction with target analytes. Herein, we use a series of functionalized metal nanoparticle-decorated NTFET devices forming an array with multiple nonselective sensor units as the electronic "tongue", sensing all five basic tastes. By extraction of selected NTFET characteristics and using linear discriminant analysis, we have successfully detected and discriminated between malignant and nonmalignant tissues and cells. We also studied the sensing mechanism and what NTFET characteristics are responsible for the variation of response between cell types, allowing for the design of future studies such as detection of malignant cells in a biopsy or the effects of malignant cells on healthy tissue.