Breaking the barrier to biomolecule limit-of-detection via 3D printed multi-length-scale graphene-coated electrodes

• Published in: Nature communications 2021-12, Vol.12 (1), p.7077-16, Article 7077
• Main Authors: Ali, Md. Azahar, Hu, Chunshan, Yuan, Bin, Jahan, Sanjida, Saleh, Mohammad S., Guo, Zhitao, Gellman, Andrew J., Panat, Rahul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 147/135; 147/28; 639/166/985; 639/925/350/59; 639/925/357/918; 9/10; 96/1; Algorithms; Biomolecules; Biosensing Techniques - instrumentation; Biosensing Techniques - methods; Biosensors; Coated electrodes; Dopamine; Dopamine - analysis; Dopamine - metabolism; Electrochemical Techniques - instrumentation; Electrochemical Techniques - methods; Electrodes; Graphene; Graphite - chemistry; Humanities and Social Sciences; Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; Low concentrations; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Models, Theoretical; multidisciplinary; Nanostructures - chemistry; Nanostructures - ultrastructure; Neurotransmitters; Oxidation-Reduction; Printing, Three-Dimensional; Reproducibility of Results; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sensitivity enhancement; Silver - chemistry; Three dimensional printing
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27361-x

Sensing of clinically relevant biomolecules such as neurotransmitters at low concentrations can enable an early detection and treatment of a range of diseases. Several nanostructures are being explored by researchers to detect biomolecules at sensitivities beyond the picomolar range. It is recognized, however, that nanostructuring of surfaces alone is not sufficient to enhance sensor sensitivities down to the femtomolar level. In this paper, we break this barrier/limit by introducing a sensing platform that uses a multi-length-scale electrode architecture consisting of 3D printed silver micropillars decorated with graphene nanoflakes and use it to demonstrate the detection of dopamine at a limit-of-detection of 500 attomoles. The graphene provides a high surface area at nanoscale, while micropillar array accelerates the interaction of diffusing analyte molecules with the electrode at low concentrations. The hierarchical electrode architecture introduced in this work opens the possibility of detecting biomolecules at ultralow concentrations. Here, the authors introduce a biosensing platform with multi-length-scale electrode architecture consisting of 3D printed silver micropillars decorated with graphene flakes. They demonstrate that this breaks a barrier to the biomolecule limit-of-detection, enabling detection down to femtomolar level.