Cu₂O/PEDOT:PSS/ZnO Nanocomposite Material Biosensor for Esophageal Cancer Detection

A highly sensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor without external bias was developed in this study. The biosensor was configured with a p-Cu₂O and n-ZnO heterostructure. Hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) was used to improve the crystal structure of Cu₂O and ZnO and reduce the defects in the Cu₂O/ZnO interface. This fabrication method provided the highly crystallized Cu₂O/ZnO structure with excellent electrical property and photoresponse in visible light. The structure was applied to a biosensor for detecting two different cancerous levels of esophageal cells, namely, OE21 and OE21-1, with a high gain in photocurrent (5.8 and 6.2 times, respectively) and a low detection limit (3000 cells in 50 μL). We believe that such a p-n heterojunction PEC biosensor could advance biosensor development and provide a promising candidate for biomedical applications.