Single-walled carbon nanotube biosensor for detection of glucose, lactate, and urea
10031102 ยท 2018-07-24
Assignee
Inventors
- Jin Young Lee (Seoul, KR)
- Ahmed Busnaina (Needham, MA)
- Hanchul Cho (Gyeonggi-do, KR)
- Sivasubramanian SOMU (Natick, MA, US)
Cpc classification
H01L29/40114
ELECTRICITY
B82Y15/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
G01N27/00
PHYSICS
H01L29/40
ELECTRICITY
B82Y15/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
G01N33/00
PHYSICS
C12Q1/00
CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
Abstract
A single-walled carbon nanotube-based micron scale multiplex biosensor is provided that enables the detection of glucose, lactate, and urea. The sensor is based on modification of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes using a linker that non-covalently associates with the nanotubes and covalently couples to an enzyme. Reaction of a physiological substrate with the enzyme results in increased resistance of the nanotubes within the sensor. The sensor is suitable for use in patient monitoring, particularly in a clinical setting. Incorporation of read out electronics and an RF signal generator into the sensor device enables it to communicate to a relay station or remote receiver. Methods are also provided for fabricating the biosensor device and using the device for detection.
Claims
1. A microscale multiplex biosensor configured for real time, simultaneous detection of two or more different chemical agents selected from the group consisting of D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea, the biosensor comprising: a substrate; a conductive layer attached to a surface of the substrate, the conductive layer forming at least first and second pairs of electrodes with an insulating gap between the electrodes of each pair; and a first conductive bridge between the first pair of electrodes and a second conductive bridge between the second pair of electrodes, each conductive bridge consisting essentially of one or more functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes contacting the pair of electrodes and bridging the gap between the pair of electrodes; wherein the one or more nanotubes of the first conductive bridge are functionalized via a linker with a first enzyme that reacts with a first chemical agent selected from the group consisting of D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea, whereby the conductivity of the first conductive bridge is modified; wherein the one or more nanotubes of the second conductive bridge are functionalized via a linker with a second enzyme that reacts with a second chemical agent selected from the group consisting of D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea, wherein the second chemical agent is different from the first chemical agent, whereby the conductivity of the second conductive bridge is modified; and wherein the linker is 1-pyrenebutanoic acid succinimidyl ester.
2. The biosensor of claim 1, wherein the single-walled carbon nanotubes are semiconducting.
3. The biosensor of claim 1, further comprising a circuit for receiving and/or processing of an electrical signal from said electrodes.
4. The biosensor of claim 1, wherein the circuit comprises an amperometry circuit.
5. The biosensor of claim 1, further comprising a transmitter for sending data obtained by the biosensor to a remote receiver.
6. The biosensor of claim 1, further comprising a third pair of electrodes and a gap between the electrodes and a third conductive bridge consisting essentially of one or more functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes, each bridging a gap between the third pair of electrodes; wherein the one or more nanotubes of the third conductive bridge are functionalized via a 1-pyrenebutanoic acid succinimidyl ester linker with a third enzyme that reacts with a third chemical agent selected from the group consisting of D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea, wherein the third chemical agent is different from the first and second chemical agents, whereby the conductivity of the second conductive bridge is modified.
7. The biosensor of claim 1 that is configured for implantation within a subject and providing continuous or periodic detection of said chemical agent.
8. The biosensor of claim 1 that is configured for accepting a body fluid sample of a subject.
9. The biosensor of claim 8 further comprising one or more microfluidic pathways for presenting said body fluid sample to said functionalized conductive bridge.
10. The biosensor of claim 1 that provides quantification of a level of said chemical agent.
11. The biosensor of claim 1, wherein reaction of said first chemical agent with said first enzyme results in increased electrical resistance of said first conductive bridge, and wherein reaction of said second chemical agent with said second enzyme results in increased resistance of said second conductive bridge.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(15) The invention provides a highly sensitive, stable biosensor capable of detecting physiological markers using an enzyme immobilized on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) for detecting physiological substrates of the immobilized enzyme (e.g., D-glucose, L-lactate, or urea) in-vivo. The biosensor has a smaller footprint than conventional FET-based sensors, taking advantage of the conductive electrical property of SWNTs for the detection and quantification of substrates such as D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea. The biosensor takes advantage of a 1-pyrenebutanoic acid succinimidyl ester (PBSE) linker, which attaches non-covalently to SWNT by means of - interactions via the pyrene moiety on the one hand, and covalently to amino groups of an enzyme protein molecule via the succinimide group on the other hand. This linker allows enzyme reactions to disturb conductance through the SWNT of the sensor, producing a readily detectable increased resistance. The linker can be used to functionalize SWNT with glucose oxidase (GOD), lactate oxidase (LOD), or urease (URE), for example.
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(17) An example of a multiplex sensor device is shown in
(18) One possible fabrication sequence of a functionalized SWNT biosensor is shown in
(19) The resistance changes in the device are dependent the number of contacts of the elements within the network. Molecular interactions disrupt the network continuity resulting in increased resistance. Percolation phenomena are determined by the concentrations of conductive materials in the system. Therefore, a high SWNT concentration leads to good current flow, while the modified SWNTs inhibit the percolation and result in the increased resistance (15).
(20) The resistance of a bundle or an array of SWNT is modified upon the chemical interaction of a specific functional group by a chemical agent whose detection is desired. The altered resistance provides a signal that registers the presence and/or concentration of the chemical agent in the environment of the sensor. For example, SWNTs modified with a glucose oxidase enzyme can serve as a conduction channel that is sensitive to glucose. The channel dimensions and the functional group loading values are defined by the sensitivity window provided by the functional group, such as the affinity of the glucose oxidase enzyme for glucose. The sensitivity and electrical response characteristics are also influenced by the dimensions of the channel in which the SWNT are deposited. A preferred channel has dimensions of about 1 micron in width by about 10 microns in length, although any desired dimensions can be used. Larger channels will produce a larger signal. Channels are preferably in the general form of an elongated rectangle, having a width smaller than the length, but other shapes can be used. The SWNT deposited in a channel are in electrical contact with electrodes at both ends of the channel, and the two electrodes are electrically connected to a circuit, thus forming a two-wire circuit that can be used to measure the resistance or conductance of the SWNT as a function of time. The interaction or exposure of these sensors to the chemical agent of interest result in a measurable change (decrease or increase) in the current flowing through the SWNT channel, which is a signature of the presence of the chemical agent. By providing different enzymes, the chemical sensor of the invention can be made specific for a variety of different chemical agents, namely the enzyme substrates.
(21) In certain embodiments the sensor is a multiplex sensor, having two or more sections each devoted to detection of a different chemical agent or class of chemical agents. The multiplex sensor embodiment utilizes a differently functionalized SWNT set to detect each corresponding chemical agent. In one embodiment, the multiplex sensor can include one or more sensors for D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea that can affect one or more biochemical sensors on the device. The multiplex sensor can be configured so as to contain two or more sections, each of which detects a different chemical agent, because each section contains a set of distinctly functionalized SWNT and is connected to a different set of circuitry. In order to fabricate such a multiplex sensor, each section can be fabricated in a separate process, and the complete set of sensor sections can be fabricated sequentially. For example, a first sensor section, capable of detecting agent.sub.1, can be fabricated by performing lithography on the substrate to prepare a set of channels for SWNT.sub.1 deposition, and functionalized SWNT.sub.1 are deposited in those channels. Alternatively, non-functionalized SWNT can be deposited and then functionalized in situ to create SWNT.sub.1 by adding one or more reagents to the deposited SWNT so as to add functional group.sub.1 to the SWNT. Subsequently, a second sensor section, capable of detecting agent.sub.2, can be added to the sensor to form a multiplex sensor. A second set of channels is then added to the sensor by photolithography, which is performed in a manner that does not disturb the already formed first sensor. SWCNT.sub.2 are then added to the second set of channels as before, adding the capability to detect agent.sub.2 simultaneously with detection of agent.sub.1. Alternatively, a microfluidic embodiment can be prepared, offering fluidic access to different channels individually. Still another method is to add SWNT by dielectrophoretic assembly to individual channels which can be accessed to provide a directed electric field to drive assembly in only desired channels. Using such approaches, fabrication can continue to add as many differently functionalized sensor sections as desired. For example, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 20, 100, 1000, or more separate sensor sections can be added to the multiplex sensor.
(22) One of the major findings with multiplex biosensors of the present invention was that enzyme-immobilized semiconducting SWNTs using non-covalent bonding with highly electrically sensitive SWNT conductance provided good detection of D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea with high repeatability (10, 9, and 9 times), stability (14, 9, 14 days) and sensitivity (0.005 M, 0.001 mM, and 0.001 g/dL detection limits) respectively, while there was no effect of other biomolecules on the detection of each intended substrate. In addition, due to its inherent small size, the biosensor can be used for in vivo mode applications. The biosensor was able to detect D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea over the large ranges of 0-300 M, 0-100 mM, and 0-100 g/dL, respectively. These ranges are sufficient to provide physiological monitoring in a blood tube.
(23) In addition, the sensors according to the invention can serve as a platform for the development of multifunctional sensors, to perform, for example, simultaneous measurements of many metabolic and/or disease markers on a single chip. Incorporation of read out electronics, one or more optional RF signal generators and one or more optional multiplexers into a chip containing the biosensors would enable them to communicate to a main relay station (e.g., in a laboratory), which in turn can transmit the data to a remote receiver for other analysis. Implementation of simple algorithms also can be used to retrieve the signal from these sensors with position and time information.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Fabrication of a Biosensor Using Dielectrophoretic Assembly of SWNT
(24) In one exemplary fabrication process, gold pads were fabricated on a thermally oxidized (1 m thick) silicon wafer as a substrate. A conventional piranha cleaning process (H.sub.2SO.sub.4:H.sub.20.sub.2; 4:1) was used to clean organic residues off the substrate and also to hydroxylate the oxide surface and render it hydrophilic. As soon as the temperature of the solution reached 110 C., the substrate was submerged into the solution for 10 min. followed by de-ionized (DI) water rinse for 10 min. After the piranha cleaning was complete, the substrate was blow-dried with N.sub.2 gas to remove the water.
(25) After preparation of the substrate, a 600 nm thick layer of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) resist (950 PMMA A, Micro Chem., USA) was spin-coated on the substrate at 5000 rpm for 60 sec followed by baking at 160 C. for 90 sec on a hotplate. E-beam lithography was then used to generate 350 m trenches (
(26) For the non-covalent functionalization and immobilization of GOD, LOD, and URE onto the assembled SWNT bundle, the templates were incubated with 6 mM 1-pyrenebutanoic acid succinimidyl ester (PBSE) as a linker in pure dimethylformamide (DMF) for 2 hr at room temperature. This was followed by rinsing with pure DMF and DI water to wash away any excess reagent. For the immobilization of GOD, LOD, and URE on the SWNT surface using covalent bonding, each SWNT bundle device was exposed to 1 mM of each enzyme in bicarbonate buffer (pH 7.4) overnight at room temperature. The device was then rinsed thoroughly in DI water and phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4), and then dried with nitrogen (N.sub.2) gas. To deactivate and block the excess PBSE reactive groups remaining on the SWNT surface, 100 mM ethanolamine was added onto the channel region of the device and incubated for 30 min. The PBSE-modified assembled SWNTs template was then rinsed with PBS buffer (pH 7.4).
Example 2
Effects of Enzyme Immobilization on SWNT Characteristics
(27) The enzyme immobilization process was defined using FE-SEM images (
Example 3
Resistance Response of a Glucose Oxidase-Functionalized Biosensor
(28) Resistance response was measured to identify the assembly of SWNTs, linker (PBSE), and enzyme (GOD) onto a template, compared with those of semiconducting-metallic mixed SWNTs assembly (
Example 4
Increased Biosensor Resistance in Response to Glucose
(29) Linear dependence of resistance responses of a GOD-modified SWNT biosensor device on glucose concentration were obtained (
(30) The effects of buffer concentration and pH on resistance are shown in
Example 5
Repeatability, Stability, and Sensitivity of Biosensor for D-Glucose, L-Lactate, and Urea Detection
(31) The repeatability, stability, and sensitivity of the developed biosensor for D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea detection are illustrated in
(32) The electrical responses maintained a similar slope of concentration dependence for D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea over a week. Real time detection for stability were performed as the followed repeatability test with various concentrations. In real time D-glucose and urea detections were stable over about 2 weeks even though the current responses were a little changed during the second week, while L-lactate detection was stable for 9 days. The currents continuously increased as a function of concentration in time of detection assays of D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea, though the current range dependence on urea concentration was smaller than for the other substrates.
(33) The effect of other biomolecules on detection of a different target is illustrated in
(34) There was little effect of other biomolecules on the detection of L-lactate or urea using the developed SWNTs sensor, though the presence of urea slightly affected D-glucose detection in that the current response was increased.
(35) In summary, the biosensor using semiconductor SWNTs was able to detect D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea at the same time. The detection sensitivities of D-glucose, L-lactate, and urea using the enzyme-modified semiconductor SWNT biosensor were shown to span a large range of concentrations. (
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