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The influence of geometry and other fundamental challenges for bio-sensing with field effect transistors

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Abstract

We present a review of field effect transistors (FET) from the point of view of their applications to label-free sensing in the era of genomics and proteomics. Here, rather than a collection of Bio-FET achievements, we propose an analysis of the different issues hampering the use of these devices into clinical applications. We make a particular emphasis on the influence of the sensor geometry in the phenomena of mass transport of analytes, which is a topic that has been traditionally overlooked in the analysis and design of biosensors, but that plays a central role in the achievement of low limits of detection. Other issues like the screening of charges by the ions in liquids with physiological ionic strength and the non-specific binding are also reviewed. In conclusion, we give an overview of different solutions that have been proposed to address all these challenges, demonstrating the potential of field effect transistors owing to their ease of integration with other semiconductor components for developing cost-effective, highly multiplexed sensors for next-generation medicines.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Sivashankar Krishnamoorthy for the useful discussions and help during the project.

Funding

This project was financed by the FNR under the Attract program, fellowship number 5718158 NANOpH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nano-Enabled Medicine and Cosmetics group, Materials Research and Technology Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Belvaux, Luxembourg

    Serena Rollo, Dipti Rani & César Pascual García

  2. BIOS Lab on Chip Group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Serena Rollo & Wouter Olthuis

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  1. Serena Rollo
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  2. Dipti Rani
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  3. Wouter Olthuis
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  4. César Pascual García
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Correspondence to César Pascual García.

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Rollo, S., Rani, D., Olthuis, W. et al. The influence of geometry and other fundamental challenges for bio-sensing with field effect transistors. Biophys Rev 11, 757–763 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-019-00592-5

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