Advances in nanowire transistors for biological analysis and cellular investigation

Abstract

Electrical biosensors based on silicon nanowire field-effect transistors (SiNW-FETs) have attracted enormous interest in the biosensing field. SiNW-FETs have proven to be significant and efficient in detecting diverse biomolecular species with the advantages of high probing sensitivity, target selectivity, real-time recording and label-free detection. In recent years, significant advances in biosensors have been achieved, particularly for cellular investigation and biomedical diagnosis. In this critical review, we will report on the latest developments in biosensing with SiNW-FETs and discuss recent advancements in the innovative designs of SiNW-FET devices. This critical review introduces the basic instrumental setup and working principle of SiNW-FETs. Technical approaches that attempted to enhance the detection sensitivity and target selectivity of SiNW-FET sensors are discussed. In terms of applications, we review the recent achievements with SiNW-FET biosensors for the investigations of protein-protein interaction, DNA/RNA/PNA hybridization, virus detection, cellular recording, biological kinetics, and clinical diagnosis. In addition, the novel architecture designs of the SiNW-FET devices are highlighted in studies of live neuron cells, electrophysiological measurements and other signal transduction pathways. Despite these remarkable achievements, certain improvements remain necessary in the device performance and clinical applications of FET-based biosensors; thus, several prospects about the future development of nanowire transistor-based instruments for biosensing employments are discussed at the end of this review.

High sensitive detections of Norovirus DNA and IgG by using multi-SiNW-FET biosensors

“…HNA is a common type of corrosive including HNO3, HF and HAc in a mixed solution for Si isotropic etching. According to the previous reports [9][10], the etchant process may be divided into two chemical reactions. The two processes take place simultaneously and accelerate the etching process.…”

Nanoparticles selectively immobilized onto large arrays of gold micro and nanostructures through surface chemical functionalizations

“…Solving this issue could bridge the gap between top-down fabrication processes such as lithography which allows the creation of large arrays of welldefined nanostructures on a surface (e.g., plasmonic nanoantennas or electrodes) and bottom-up built nano-objects with unique physicochemical properties (e.g., fluorescent nanoparticles or silicon nanowires) [7,8]. Surface chemical functionalization can be used to tune the short-range attractive or repulsive interaction between colloidal particles and a planar surface and thus allow the selective trapping of colloids onto precise regions of a heterogeneous substrate.…”

Surface‐Independent and Oriented Immobilization of Antibody via One‐Step Polydopamine/Protein G Coating: Application to Influenza Virus Immunoassay

“…The fine accuracy and simple operation of immunoassays support their use in disease diagnosis, food safety, environmental protection, etc . Recently, immunoassays have evolved into sophisticated analyte‐sensing methods by employing autonomous platforms, emerging nanomaterials, and various kinds of readout signals (e.g., colorimetry, electrochemistry, surface plasmon resonance, fluorescence, and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering) …”