Two-Dimensional-Material-Based Field-Effect Transistor Biosensor for Detecting COVID-19 Virus (SARS-CoV-2)

Abstract

The emergence of rapidly expanding infectious diseases such as coronavirus (COVID-19) demands effective biosensors that can promptly detect and recognize the pathogens. Field-effect transistors based on semiconducting two-dimensional (2D) materials (2D-FETs) have been identified as potential candidates for rapid and label-free sensing applications. This is because any perturbation of such atomically thin 2D channels can significantly impact their electronic transport properties. Here, we report the use of FET based on semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) WSe 2 as a promising biosensor for the rapid and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro . The sensor is created by functionalizing the WSe 2 monolayers with a monoclonal antibody against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and exhibits a detection limit of down to 25 fg/μL in 0.01X phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Comprehensive theoretical and experimental studies, including density functional theory, atomic force microscopy, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies, and electronic transport properties, were performed to characterize and explain the device performance. The results demonstrate that TMDC-based 2D-FETs can potentially serve as sensitive and selective biosensors for the rapid detection of infectious diseases.

Nanoplasmonic biosensor for rapid detection of multiple viral variants in human serum

“…The new knowledge gen- erated in this active research field has also helped in the validation of advanced fundamental concepts in physical sciences for virus research. For instance, the functional and structural understanding of the spike proteins of SARS CoV-2 and its RNA has led to the development of highly selective and sensitive biosensing technologies to detect the virus [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] . These sen- sors are based on a variety of optical and electronic transduction principles which, in the past, have served as diagnostic platforms for detecting various diseases, with features such as portability, disposability and ease of operation [7] .…”

Electronic field effect detection of SARS-CoV-2 N-protein before the onset of symptoms

“…As seen in the table, the current research targets nanomaterials as the transducer material since they demonstrate better signal amplification( Mittal et al, 2017 ). Specifically, the nanomaterials used as transducers were WSe 2 ( Fathi-Hafshejani et al, 2021 ), and graphene-based materials (reduced graphene oxide decorated with Au nanoparticles ( Li et al, 2021 ) and graphene ( Seo et al, 2020 )). Interestingly, all the FET biosensors give a very fast detection time, lower than 4 min.…”

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 using dielectric modulated TFET-based biosensor

“…No Biosensors Approx. sensitivity Response time Limit of detection 1 Dual metal extended gate TFET sensor for detecting SARS-CoV-2 (k = 2,1, N bio = 1 × 10 12 C/cm 2 , V GS = 0.6 V) [ 17 ] 4 × 10 2 – – 2 Direct SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Detection by Y-Shaped DNA Dual-Probe Transistor Assay, Journal of the American Chemical Society (1000 µL −1 ) [ 31 ] 450 0.7 min 0.03 copy/μL (5.01 × 10 −20 M) 3 Two-Dimensional-Material-Based Field-Effect Transistor Biosensor for Detecting COVID-19 Virus (SARS-CoV-2) [ 32 ] > 1 > 120 min 25 fg/μL 4 Graphene Field-Effect Transistor Sensing of Influenza Virus and SARS-CoV-2, ACS Omega [ 33 ] < 0.5 50 ms 1 fg/mL 5 Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Antigens Using High-Purity Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Based Field-Effect Transistors [ 34 ] – 2 min 0.55 fg/mL for SAg 6 Dual metal gate SiGe pocket Vertical TFET for detecting SARS-CoV-2 (k = 12, N bio = 2 × 10 12 C/cm 2 ,V GS = 1.5 V) [ This work] 2 × 10 6 12psec ~ 89 µV …”

“…Sensitivities of the proposed TFET-based biosensor are analyzed for both the detection methods. Several FET-based biosensors have been reported in the literature for sensing SARS-CoV-2 [31][32][33][34]. However, the proposed biosensor in our work is based on the Tunnel FET which works on the principle of quantum mechanical tunneling and it is well known for its steeper subthreshold swing characteristics providing faster switching.…”