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Published on: March 24, 2023
Selective and sensitive TNT sensors using biomimetic polydiacetylene-coated CNT-FETs
Tae Hyun Kim1, Byung Yang Lee, Justyn Jaworski
1Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Abstract:
Miniaturized smart sensors that can perform sensitive and selective real-time monitoring of target analytes are tremendously valuable for various sensing applications. We developed selective nanocoatings by combining trinitrotoluene (TNT) receptors bound to conjugated polydiacetylene (PDA) polymers with single-walled carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (SWNT-FET). Selective binding events between the TNT molecules and phage display derived TNT receptors were effectively transduced to sensitive SWNT-FET conductance sensors through the PDA coating layers. The resulting sensors exhibited an unprecedented 1 fM sensitivity toward TNT in real time, with excellent selectivity over various similar aromatic compounds. Our biomimetic receptor coating approach may be useful for the development of sensitive and selective micro- and nanoelectronic sensor devices for various other target analytes.
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