The Effect of Ionic Strength on the Sensing Performance of Liquid-Gated Biosensors

Wu Guangfu1, TANG Xin2, LIN Zihong2, Meyyappan M.3, King Wai Chiu Lai2

  • 1City University of HongKong
  • 2City University of Hong Kong
  • 3NASA Ames Research Center

Details

15:30 - 16:15 | Wed 26 Jul | Marquis Ballroom Foyer | WePPP.27

Session: Poster I

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrated that the effect of ionic strength of electrolyte on the electrical signal of liquid-gated graphene field-effect transistors (G-FETs) in sensing of E. coli. Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) with different concentrations, which affects the ionic strength, was employed as the electrolyte for biosensor operation. The results showed that larger response (4.16%) was obtained by using the PBS with smaller ionic strength (1.627 mM). When the ionic strength is too low (0.1627 mM), it causes negative effect on the antibody-E. coli interaction, resulting in a smaller response (2.98%). This study provides a simple method to optimize the operation conditions of graphene biosensors, which enables the optimization of the electrical response.