Ultra-sensitive protein detection with organic electrochemical transistors printed on plastic substrates. (25th July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Macchia, Eleonora; Romele, Paolo; Manoli, Kyriaki; Ghittorelli, Matteo; Magliulo, Maria; Kovács-Vajna, Zsolt M; Torricelli, Fabrizio; Torsi, Luisa
• Is Part Of: Flexible and printed electronics. Volume 3:Number 3(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-07-25
• Subjects: OECTs -- protein detection -- plastic biosensors -- immunosensors; Flexible electronics -- Periodicals; Printed electronics -- Periodicals; Flexible electronics; Printed electronics; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 621.381
• DOI: 10.1088/2058-8585/aad0cb
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2058-8585

Abstract

Abstract: The detection of protein biomarkers is of great importance in the early diagnosis of severe pathological states. Although in the last decade many approaches to achieve ultra-sensitive protein detection have been developed, most of them require complicated assay set-ups, hindering their adoption in point-of-care applications and on-spot diagnosis. Here we show an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) biosensor printed on plastic substrates that can selectively detect Immunoglobulin G (IgG) with an unprecedented attomolar detection limit. The OECT is used as a transducer of the biorecognition event taking place at the gate electrode. The measured concentrations are well below the detectable limits of the leading clinical diagnostic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and comparable to the ones gathered with the label-needing single molecule arrays platform. Our work benchmarks the role of plastic OECT-based biosensors as a powerful tool in simple, low cost, yet non-invasive, ultra-sensitive, and widely applicable immunoassay technology.