Gold nanoparticle-modified capacitive field-effect sensors: Studying the surface density of nanoparticles and coupling of charged polyelectrolyte macromolecules

January 5, 2022

Title

Gold nanoparticle-modified capacitive field-effect sensors: Studying the surface density of nanoparticles and coupling of charged polyelectrolyte macromolecules

Author

Tobias Karschuck, Corinna Kaulen, Arshak Poghossian, Patrick H. Wagner, Michael J. Schoning

Year

2021

Journal

Electrochemical Science Advances

Abstract

The coupling of ligand-stabilized gold nanoparticles with field-effect devices offers new possibilities for label-free biosensing. In this work, we study the immobilization of aminooctanethiol-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuAOTs) on the silicon dioxide surface of a capacitive field-effect sensor. The terminal amino group of the AuAOT is well suited for the functionalization with biomolecules. The attachment of the positively-charged AuAOTs on a capacitive field-effect sensor was detected by direct electrical readout using capacitance-voltage and constant capacitance measurements. With a higher particle density on the sensor surface, the measured signal change was correspondingly more pronounced. The results demonstrate the ability of capacitive field-effect sensors for the non-destructive quantitative validation of nanoparticle immobilization. In addition, the electrostatic binding of the polyanion polystyrene sulfonate to the AuAOT-modified sensor surface was studied as a model system for the label-free detection of charged macromolecules. Most likely, this approach can be transferred to the label-free detection of other charged molecules such as enzymes or antibodies.

Instrument

V-550

Keywords

gold nanoparticles, enzyme, antibodies, AuAOT,