Electrical conductance change of graphene-based devices upon surface modification for detecting botulinum neurotoxin

Abstract

We report an electric conductance change in a graphene-based device upon molecular adsorption for detecting botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) using the antibody-antigen binding strategy. This device consists of a 400-mu m-wide monolayer of graphene between the source and drain electrodes. As-fabricated devices exhibit p-type behaviors. After modifying graphene with linkers and antibodies, BoNT detection was performed by dropping a target solution and measuring the conductance change of the devices. The immobilization of linkers on graphene decreases the electrical conductance as a result of electron transfer from linkers to graphene. However, the conductance change caused by the adsorption of antibodies or BoNTs is ascribed to the top-gating effects of the molecules adsorbed on graphene. The normalized conductance change of the graphene-based device upon antibody-BoNT binding was greater than 5%. (C) 2017 The Japan Society of Applied Physics