Detection and characterization of biomolecular interactions,
such
as protein–protein interactions (PPIs), are critical to a fundamental
understanding of biochemical processes, thus being a driver of innovation
for drug discovery, clinical diagnostics, and protein engineering.
Among the many sensor types used to probe PPIs, organic field-effect
transistors are particularly desirable due to their unique features,
including tunability, sensitivity, low-power requirements, and multi-parameter
readouts. This work describes the development of a biosensor based
on organic field-effect transistors, covalently functionalized at
the surface with an engineered ubiquitin variant for the specific
and sensitive detection of ubiquitin-specific protease 8 (USP8). The
resulting sensor was carefully characterized to reveal both electronic
and solid-state properties. The sensing platform showed high sensitivity
(sub-nanomolar analyte concentrations) and selectivity for USP8 and
robust performance that suggests that it may be highly tunable. The
sensing system introduced in this work provides a detection method
for PPIs, which constitutes a promising platform for advanced biotechnology
applications.