Label-free electronic detection of interleukin-6 using horizontally aligned carbon nanotubes. (15th January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Hu; Choo, Teck Kian; Huang, Jingfeng; Wang, Yi; Liu, Yuanjun; Platt, Mark; Palaniappan, Alagappan; Liedberg, Bo; Tok, Alfred Iing Yoong
• Is Part Of: Materials & design. Volume 90(2016)
• Page Start: 852
• Page End: 857
• Publication Date: 2016-01-15
• Subjects: Interleukin-6 -- Field-effect transistor -- Horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes; Materials -- Periodicals; Engineering design -- Periodicals; Matériaux -- Périodiques; Conception technique -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2015.11.029
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-1275

Abstract

Abstract: A facile, sensitive, and label-free assay for detection of interleukin-6 (IL-6) using liquid-gated field-effect transistor (FET) sensors based on horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) is proposed. This approach relies on the drain current (Id ) responses of the transistor upon interactions of IL-6 with its corresponding antibody (IL-6R) immobilized on SWCNT. The proposed immunosensor exhibits superior sensitivity (limit-of-detection = 1.37 pg/mL) in virtue of the reduced tube-to-tube contact resistance, good selectivity (no responses to bovine serum albumin and cysteine were observed and detection of target molecules in serum was achieved) as a result of the highly specific interaction between IL-6 and IL-6R, and excellent stability (no significant degradation in the electronic performance after storage under ambient conditions for up to 3 months) in virtue of the strong adhesion of CNT to the quartz substrate and good horizontal alignment of these tubes. Therefore, the proposed immunosensor is a promising platform for early diagnosis of various diseases (including some cancers) that can be indicated by the circulating level of IL-6. Graphical abstract: Highlights: Label-free detection of interleukin-6 using CNT-based FET sensors is demonstrated. This approach exhibits high sensitivity as the detection limit achieved was 1.37 pg/mL. The specificity of this approach was demonstrated by detection of interleukin-6 in rabbit serum. The device exhibits good stability under ambient conditions for up to 3 months.