硅材料纳米生物传感器可望大量生产

生物谷

    据美国耶鲁大学的研究人员表示，他们用传统方法研制出一种简易而敏感的硅材料纳米生物传感器，这在理论上使纳米传感器可以大量生产。该研究成果发表在2月1日的《自然》杂志上。

    该研究论文的作者之一——耶鲁大学化学家Mark  Reed表示，基于标准材料和传统制造工艺可以使该探测器像电子元件一样，更易于嵌入设备中。该小组运用一种良好的晶片和具有缓慢作用的溶剂，利用传统方法制作出的纳米线更加光滑和精确。

    Reed和他的同事在抗体或者其它生物分子上覆盖了一层直径为30纳米的纳米线，使其能够捕获特定种类的蛋白质。由于堆积的蛋白质很容易影响通过纳米线的电流，因此传感器能够探测到这一变化。

    该设备的灵敏度可与其它纳米传感器媲美，它能在数秒内探测到1立方毫米流体中3万个自由蛋白质分子。此外，它还能通过与抗体结合时释放出的酸来识别免疫细胞。

部分英文原文：

Label-free immunodetection with CMOS-compatible semiconducting nanowires

Eric Stern1, James F. Klemic2, David A. Routenberg2, Pauline N. Wyrembak5, Daniel B. Turner-Evans2, Andrew D. Hamilton5, David A. LaVan3, Tarek M. Fahmy1 and Mark A. Reed2,4

Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Department of Electrical Engineering,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, P O Box 208284, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
Department of Chemistry, Yale University, P O Box 208107, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA

Correspondence to: Tarek M. Fahmy1Mark A. Reed2,4 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to M.A.R. (Email: mark.reed@yale.edu) or T.M.F. (Email: tarek.fahmy@yale.edu).

Semiconducting nanowires have the potential to function as highly sensitive and selective sensors for the label-free detection of low concentrations of pathogenic microorganisms1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Successful solution-phase nanowire sensing has been demonstrated for ions3, small molecules4, proteins5, 6, DNA7 and viruses8; however, 'bottom-up' nanowires (or similarly configured carbon nanotubes11) used for these demonstrations require hybrid fabrication schemes12, 13, which result in severe integration issues that have hindered widespread application. Alternative 'top-down' fabrication methods of nanowire-like devices9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 produce disappointing performance because of process-induced material and device degradation. Here we report an approach that uses complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) field effect transistor compatible technology and hence demonstrate the specific label-free detection of below 100 femtomolar concentrations of antibodies as well as real-time monitoring of the cellular immune response. This approach eliminates the need for hybrid methods and enables system-scale integration of these sensors with signal processing and information systems. Additionally, the ability to monitor antibody binding and sense the cellular immune response in real time with readily available technology should facilitate widespread diagnostic applications.