Many disease conditions and illnesses can be diagnosed with the help of Field-effect transistor (FET), where the hormone at sub-picomolar concentrations can be detected.
A new biosensor called Field-effect transistor (FET) developed is inexpensive, portable, sensitive and selective, that provide quick results and can also be mass produced to meet the market demand, reveals a new study. // In this age of fast fashion and fast food, people want things immediately. The same holds true when they get sick and want to know what's wrong. But performing rapid, accurate diagnostics on a serum sample without complex and time-consuming manipulations is a tall order. //
‘Inexpensive and convenient to use Field-effect transistor (FET) can diagnose many disease conditions and illnesses.
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FET-based biosensors are ideal for point-of-care diagnostics. These sensors detect the change in an electric field that results from a target compound, such as a protein or DNA, binding to it. But serum has a high ionic strength, or a high concentration of charged ions, that can mask the targets.The study was reported in ACS Sensors. Previous research has reported use of pretreatment steps, complex devices, and receptors with different lengths and orientations on the sensor surface, but with limited success.
Alexey Tarasov and colleagues wanted to develop a new approach that would make it easier for FETs to be made as point-of-care diagnostic devices for serum analyses.
The researchers developed a FET sensor that included antibody fragments and polyethylene glycol molecules on a gold surface, which they linked to a commercially available transducer.
In this configuration, different sensor chips can be swapped out for use with the same transducer. As a proof-of-principle, they tested the sensor with human thyroid-stimulating hormone.
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