"Clickable" graphene nanoribbons for biosensor interfaces

Nanoscale Horiz. 2024 Mar 25;9(4):598-608. doi: 10.1039/d3nh00590a.

Abstract

We report on the synthesis of "clickable" graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and their application as a versatile interface for electrochemical biosensors. GNRs are successfully deposited on gold-coated working electrodes and serve as a platform for the covalent anchoring of a bioreceptor (i.e., a DNA aptamer), enabling selective and sensitive detection of Interleukin 6 (IL6). Moreover, when applied as the intermediate linker on reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-based field-effect transistors (FETs), the GNRs provide improved robustness compared to conventional aromatic bi-functional linker molecules. GNRs enable an orthogonal and covalent attachment of a recognition unit with a considerably higher probe density than previously established methods. Interestingly, we demonstrate that GNRs introduce photoluminescence (PL) when applied to rGO-based FETs, paving the way toward the simultaneous optical and electronic probing of the attached biointerface.

MeSH terms

  • Biosensing Techniques* / methods
  • Graphite* / chemistry
  • Nanotubes, Carbon* / chemistry

Substances

  • Nanotubes, Carbon
  • graphene oxide
  • Graphite