Deng Pan

Novel graphene-based biosensor for early detection of Zika virus infection

We have developed a cost-effective and portable graphene-enabled biosensor to detect Zika virus with a highly specific immobilized monoclonal antibody. Field Effect Biosensing (FEB) with monoclonal antibodies covalently linked to graphene enables real-time, quantitative detection of native Zika viral (ZIKV) antigens. The percent change in capacitance in response to doses of antigen (ZIKV NS1) coincides with levels of clinical significance with detection of antigen in buffer at concentrations as low as 450pM. Potential diagnostic applications were demonstrated by measuring Zika antigen in a simulated human serum. Selectivity was validated using Japanese Encephalitis NS1, a homologous and potentially cross-reactive viral antigen. Further, the graphene platform can simultaneously provide the advanced quantitative data of nonclinical biophysical kinetics tools, making it adaptable to both clinical research and possible diagnostic applications. The speed, sensitivity, and selectivity of this first-of-its-kind graphene-enabled Zika biosensor make it an ideal candidate for development as a medical diagnostic test.

Quantitative Kelvin probe force microscopy of current-carrying devices

Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) should be a key tool for characterizing the device physics of nanoscale electronics because it can directly image electrostatic potentials. In practice, though, distant connective electrodes interfere with accurate KPFM potential measurements and compromise its applicability. A parameterized KPFM technique described here determines these influences empirically during imaging, so that accurate potential profiles can be deduced from arbitrary device geometries without additional modeling. The technique is demonstrated on current-carrying single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), directly resolving average resistances per unit length of 70 kΩ/μm in semimetallic SWNTs and 200 kΩ/μm in semiconducting SWNTs.

One-dimensional Poole-Frenkel conduction in the single defect limit

A single point defect surrounded on either side by quasi-ballistic, semimetallic carbon nanotube is a nearly ideal system for investigating disorder in one-dimensional (1D) conductors and comparing experiment to theory. Here, individual single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) are investigated before and after the incorporation of single point defects. Transport and local Kelvin Probe force microscopy independently demonstrate high-resistance depletion regions over 1.0 μm wide surrounding one point defect in semimetallic SWNTs. Transport measurements show that conductance through such wide depletion regions occurs via a modified, 1D version of Poole-Frenkel field-assisted emission. Given the breadth of theory dedicated to the possible effects of disorder in 1D systems, it is surprising that a Poole-Frenkel mechanism appears to describe defect scattering and resistance in this semimetallic system.

Single Molecule Bioelectronics and Their Application to Amplification-Free Measurement of DNA Lengths

As biosensing devices shrink smaller and smaller, they approach a scale in which single molecule electronic sensing becomes possible. Here, we review the operation of single-enzyme transistors made using single-walled carbon nanotubes. These novel hybrid devices transduce the motions and catalytic activity of a single protein into an electronic signal for real-time monitoring of the protein’s activity. Analysis of these electronic signals reveals new insights into enzyme function and proves the electronic technique to be complementary to other single-molecule methods based on fluorescence. As one example of the nanocircuit technique, we have studied the Klenow Fragment (KF) of DNA polymerase I as it catalytically processes single-stranded DNA templates. The fidelity of DNA polymerases makes them a key component in many DNA sequencing techniques, and here we demonstrate that KF nanocircuits readily resolve DNA polymerization with single-base sensitivity. Consequently, template lengths can be directly counted from electronic recordings of KF’s base-by-base activity. After measuring as few as 20 copies, the template length can be determined with <1 base pair resolution, and different template lengths can be identified and enumerated in solutions containing template mixtures.

Electronic Effects of Defects in One-Dimensional Channels

As electronic devices shrink to the one-dimensional limit, unusual device physics can result, even at room temperature. Nanoscale conductors like single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are particularly useful tools for experimentally investigating these effects. Our characterization of point defects in SWNTs has focused on these electronic consequences. A single scattering site in an otherwise quasi-ballistic SWNT introduces resistance, transconductance, and chemical sensitivity, and here we investigate these contributions using a combination of transport and scanning probe techniques. The transport measurements determine the two-terminal contributions over a wide range of bias, temperature, and environmental conditions, while the scanning probe work provides complementary confirmation that the effects originate at a particular site along the conduction path in a SWNT. Together, the combination proves that single point defects behave like scattering barriers having Poole-Frenkel transport characteristics. The Poole-Frenkel barriers have heights of 10 – 30 meV and gate-dependent widths that grow as large as 1 μm due to the uniquely poor screening in one dimension. Poole-Frenkel characteristics suggest that the barriers contain at least one localized electronic state, and that this state primarily contributes to conduction under high bias or high temperature conditions. Because these localized states vary from one device to another, we hypothesize that each might be unique to a particular defect’s chemical type.