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Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Attaching Biological Probes to Silica Optical Biosensors Using Silane Coupling Agents
Published on: May 1, 2012
Carbyne-Enriched Carbon Coatings on Silicon Chips as Biosensing Surfaces with Stable-over-Time Biomolecule Binding
Dimitra Tsounidi1, Panagiota Petrou1, Mariya Aleksandrova2
1Immunoassays/Immunosensors Lab, Institute of Nuclear and Radiological Sciences and Technology, Energy and Safety, National Centre For Scientific Research Demokritos, 15341 Aghia Paraskevi, Greece.
None:
Carbyne-containing materials offer significant potential for biosensor applications due to their unique chemical and mechanical properties. In this study, carbyne-enriched carbon coatings deposited on SiO2/Si chips using ion-assisted pulse-plasma deposition were evaluated for the first time as substrates for optical biosensing. At first, the carbyne-enriched coatings were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, and the sessile drop method to assess their composition, structure, and wettability. After that, chips with carbyne-enriched coatings were modified with biomolecules through physical absorption or covalent bonding, and the respective biomolecular interactions were monitored in real-time by White Light Reflectance Spectroscopy (WLRS). In both cases, SiO2/Si chips modified with an aminosilane were used as reference substrates. Physical adsorption was tested through immobilization of an antibody against C-reactive protein (CRP) to enable its immunochemical detection, whereas covalent bonding was tested through coupling of biotin and monitoring its reaction with streptavidin. It was found that the carbyne-enriched carbon-coated chips retained both their antibody adsorption capability and their covalent bonding ability for over 18 months, while the modified with aminosilane SiO2/Si chips lost 90% of their antibody adsorption capacity and covalent bonding ability after two months of storage. These findings highlight the strong potential of carbyne-enriched carbon-coated chips as robust biosensing substrates, with applications extending beyond WLRS.
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