High-throughput impedance spectroscopy biosensor array chip

Abstract

Impedance spectroscopy is a powerful tool for characterizing materials that exhibit a frequency dependent behaviour to an applied electric field. This paper introduces a fully integrated multi-channel impedance extraction circuit that can both generate AC stimulus signals over a broad frequency range and also measure and digitize the real and imaginary components of the impedance response. The circuit was fabricated in a 0.5 μm complementary metaloxide semiconductor. Tailored for cellular membrane interface characterization, the signal generator produces sinusoidal waves from 10 mHz to 10 kHz. To suit a variety of applications, the impedance extraction circuit provides a programmable current measurement range from 100 pA to 100 nA with a measured resolution of approximately 100 fA. Occupying only 0.045 mm 2 per measurement channel, the circuit is compact enough to include nearly 200 channels in a 3 × 3 mm 2 die area.

Recent Lipid Membrane-Based Biosensing Platforms

“…Freely suspended bilayers can be represented by the simple circuit shown in Figure 4a, but circuitry modeling may be quite complicated to include more elements (electrodes, interfaces, etc.) in order to account for bias [25] or to represent complex platforms, such as tethered bilayers [11], unanchored ( Figure 4b) [25] or anchored membranes (Figure 4c) [17] on electrode surfaces, metal-supported membranes [25], polymer supported bilayers [26], or high density biosensor arrays [27]. These approximations can lead to misestimating, unless interfacial molecular structure and hydration are taken into account [10].…”

Low Cost Autonomous Lock-In Amplifier for Resistance/Capacitance Sensor Measurements

“…depends on the passive elements R PS and C, as well as on the operation frequency f 0 . A frequency f 0 = 1 kHz was chosen to avoid any contribution of low frequency flicker noise, and because it matches the typical operation frequency of biosensors used to characterize electrodes, organs and tissues, an application field where this portable low-cost approach can provide significant advantages over classical laboratory equipment [19,28,[42][43][44].…”

CMOS biosensors for in vitro diagnosis – transducing mechanisms and applications

“…Furthermore, it is also of importance to manage the sample matrix effects of biosensors from complex media and include different functions such as multiplexing 59 and DNA amplification 47,51 in an integrated platform, along with the CMOS biosensors. In addition, as sample management is still a challenge for CMOS chips, extra efforts should be entailed to seamlessly integrate the sample management network and the CMOS biosensor with the aid of channel microfluidic networks [107][108][109] or digital microfluidic arrays, 104,110 rendering these CMOS biosensors as truly lab-on-a-chip platforms. In our opinion, these CMOS biosensors will ultimately provide global patients with an efficient and powerful IVD solution to improve their living quality.…”