The plastic transistor amplifies the biochemical signal. Free Technical Library News

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Plastic transistor amplifies biochemical signal

10.04.2023

The molecules in our body are constantly communicating. Some of these molecules provide a biochemical fingerprint that can indicate how a wound is healing, whether a cancer treatment is working or not, or whether a virus has invaded the body. If we could sense these signals in real time with high sensitivity, then we could recognize health problems faster and monitor disease progression.

Now researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new technology that makes it easier to eavesdrop on our body's internal conversations.

Although the body's chemical signals are incredibly weak, making them difficult to detect and analyze, scientists have developed a new method that amplifies the signals by more than 1000 times. Transistors, the building block of electronics, can amplify weak signals to provide amplified output. The new approach simplifies signal detection without complex and cumbersome electronics.

By amplifying weak biochemical signals, the new approach takes modern medicine one step closer to on-site diagnosis and real-time disease monitoring.

Although they transmit vital information filled with potential for diagnosis and treatment, many chemical sensors provide weak signals. In fact, medical professionals often cannot decipher these signals without taking a sample (blood, sweat, saliva) and running it through high-tech laboratory equipment. Typically, this equipment is expensive and may even be located off-site. And it can take an unbearably long time to return results. However, Rivne's team seeks to feel and amplify these hidden signals without leaving the body.

Other scientists have explored electrochemical sensors for the biosensor using aptamers, which are single strands of DNA designed to bind to specific targets. After successfully binding to an interesting target, the aptamers act as an electronic switch, folding into a new structure that triggers an electrochemical signal. But with aptamers alone, signals are often weak and very susceptible to noise and distortion unless tested under ideal and well-controlled conditions.

To avoid this problem, the Rivnay team equipped an amplifier based on a traditional electrode-based sensor and developed a new architecture electrochemical transistor-based sensor that can sense and amplify a weak biochemical signal. This new device uses an electrode to sense the signal, but the adjacent transistor is there to amplify the signal. The researchers also included a built-in thin-film reference electrode to make the amplified signals more stable and reliable.

To test the new technology, Rivnay's team turned to a common cytokine, a type of signaling protein that regulates the immune response and is involved in tissue repair and regeneration. By measuring the concentration of certain cytokines near the wound, experts can assess how quickly the wound is healing, whether there is a new infection or other medical interventions.

In a series of experiments, Rovnay and his team were able to enhance the cytokine signal by three to four orders of magnitude compared to traditional electrode-based aptamer detection methods. While the technology has shown good results in cytokine signaling experiments, it should be able to amplify signals from any molecule or chemical, including antibodies, hormones, or drugs, where the detection circuit uses electrochemical reporters.

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