High-Performance Extended-Gate Field-Effect Transistor for Kinase Sensing in Aβ Accumulation of Alzheimer's Disease

An amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) is generally believed to be a pathological marker of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but it is still of great significance to explore the upstream and downstream relationship of Aβ in AD. It is previously reported that c-Abl, a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase, can be activated by Aβ, but the interaction between Aβ and c-Abl is still unknown. Herein, an extended-gate field-effect transistor (EG-FET)-based sensor has been developed to monitor the level of c-Abl with high sensitivity and selectivity. Our peptide-functionalized EG-FET sensor as the signal transducer can follow c-Abl activity with electron transfer by its specific phosphorylation. The sensor presents a good linear correlation over c-Abl concentrations of 1 pg/mL to 3.05 μg/mL. The sensor was successfully applied to quantify c-Abl activity in the brain tissue of AD transgenic mice, and the interaction between c-Abl and Aβ in AD mice was explored by administering the c-Abl inhibitor (imatinib) and the agonist (DPH). Our work is expected to provide an important reference for early diagnosis and treatment of AD.