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CMOS-Compatible Silicon-Nanowire-Based Coulter Counter for Cell Enumeration
IEEE Transactions on Bio-Medical Engineering
|January 23, 2016
Summary
A novel silicon nanowire Coulter counter detects and counts particles and cells. This field-effect transistor (FET) device offers high sensitivity for applications like rare-cell detection.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Biophysics
- Electrical Engineering
Background:
- Particle and cell enumeration are crucial in biological and medical research.
- Existing Coulter counters face limitations in sensitivity and integration.
- Field-effect transistor (FET) devices offer potential for enhanced biosensing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and fabricate a silicon-nanowire-based Coulter counter.
- To evaluate its performance in particle and cell enumeration.
- To assess its compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes for high-throughput applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of silicon nanowires using a CMOS-compatible process.
- Utilizing the nanowire as a field-effect transistor (FET) for sensing.
- Employing potential change detection as particles/cells pass through a sensing channel.
- Characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and current-voltage measurements.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated device uniformity and high sensitivity to surface potential changes.
- Successfully differentiated polystyrene beads of 8 μm and 15 μm diameters.
- Accurately counted Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) cells, validating the device's functionality.
- Confirmed CMOS compatibility for potential integration and scalability.
Conclusions:
- The silicon-nanowire-based Coulter counter is a sensitive and effective device for particle and cell enumeration.
- CMOS-compatible fabrication facilitates integration and high-throughput sensor array development.
- The technology shows promise for advanced applications, including rare-cell detection with optimized sample preparation.
