Bionanoelectronics

Abstract

Every cell in a living organisms performs a complex array of functions using a vast arsenal of proteins, ion channels, pumps, motors, signaling molecules, and cargo carriers. With all the progress that humankind has made to date in the development of sophisticated machinery and computing capabilities, understanding and communicating with living systems on that level of complexity lags behind. A breakthrough in these capabilities could only come if a way is found to integrate biological components into artificial devices. The central obstacle for this vision of bionanoelectronics is the absence of a versatile interface that facilitates two-way communication between biological and electronic structures. 1D nanomaterials, such as nanotubes and nanowires, open up the possibility of constructing tight interfaces that could enable such bidirectional flow of information. This report discusses the overall progress in building such interfaces on the level of individual proteins and whole cells and focuses on the latest efforts to create device platforms that integrate membrane proteins, channels, and pumps with nanowire bioelectronics.

A polysaccharide bioprotonic field-effect transistor

“…In hybrid bionanodevices, biological multifunctionality has been added to carbon nanotubes 21 or silicon nanowires 22 with transmembrane proton conductive proteins. Bionanoelectronic devices 23 that can control the current of ions and protons-a more appropriate language than electrons in nature 24 -are uniquely positioned. In this regard, nanofluidics devices are particularly attractive.…”

Taking Electrons out of Bioelectronics: From Bioprotonic Transistors to Ion Channels

“…Differences in methods of communication (electrons versus ions) between traditional electronic devices and biological systems result in a challenge at the interface 7, 8. Silicon nanowire and carbon nanotube transistors integrated with enzymes, antibodies, and lipid bilayers use ions to gate electronic currents and record biological reactions in the intracellular and extracellular space 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Organic polymers with mixed electronic and ionic conductivity integrated in electrodes and electrochemical transistors transduce ionic to electronic currents and amplify small biological signals3, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 In addition, organic iontronics locally deliver ions and neurotransmitters in the extracellular space to affect cell and tissue function 23, 24, 25, 26.…”

Tuning the surface conditioning of trapezoidally shaped silicon nanowires by (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane

“…Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) emerged about a decade ago as strong candidates for new generations of biological and chemical sensors. [1][2][3] Having dimensions on the same scale like the target molecules and a high surface-to-volume ratio, their electrical response is expected to exceed that of more conventional thin-film devices for real-time monitoring of complex environments. [4][5][6][7][8] A plethora of studies addressed their performance as ultra-sensitive detectors for gas, [9][10][11] pH, 1,12,13 nucleic acids, 14 and proteins.…”

“…Although extensively employed in previous studies, 1,12,15 only a few works considered the subtle effects that APTES monolayers have on the basic electrical properties of SiNWs. While the presence of electrolytes, adsorbed water molecules and charges at the silicon oxide surface is known to produce important changes in the electrical characteristics of SiNW field effect transistors (FETs), 2,[20][21][22][23] the control of the coupling of APTES monolayers to SiNWs was primarily directed to the manipulation of the terminal amino groups as well as to the overall hydrophobic properties of the sensors.…”