Augmentation of the Standalone Multiplexed Extended-Gate Field-Effect Transistor Immunosensor Response with Gold Nanoparticle/Antibody Bioconjugates

Electronic biosensors based on the extended-gate field-effect transistor (EGFET) concept show great promise for multiplexed biosensing in clinical screening and monitoring of complex diseases at the point of care. These biosensors offer high sensitivity, simplified integration, and easy interfacing with conventional readout electronics. However, EGFET biosensors face practical limitations that hinder their widespread use, such as the need for complex nanostructuring of extended gates (EGs) and FET transducers to achieve ultra-high sensitivity and operate at low current levels (in the ~nA range).
We present a low-cost, standalone, and multiplexed EGFET immunosensor. Our system consists of a disposable sensing chip with an EG electrode array, a multiplexing module that allows reproducible switching between up to 32 EGs, and a readout module built around a commercial FET transducer using off-the-shelf electronic components. We detect the binding of IgG antibodies by indirectly monitoring the gate surface potential, operating the FET transducer in constant charge mode. To achieve high sensitivity levels (approximately 20 mV/dec) and a low detection limit (around 10 fM), comparable to state-of-the-art nanostructured EGFET biosensors, we employ an innovative assay approach. This involves labeling the analyte antibody through bioconjugation with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), resulting in a detection limit approximately 10^4 times lower than with the gold-standard optical method for the same antibody. Remarkably, our approach leads to a 5-fold amplification of the potentiometric response compared to direct antibody detection without labeling. To understand the origin of this amplification, we analyze the impedimetric response and find that AuNPs exhibit nanoantennae-like behavior, disrupting charge uniformity within the diffusion barrier layer and producing signal amplification. These findings demonstrate the potential for creating a new cost-effective and highly sensitive potentiometric biosensing format by utilizing customized labeling of analyte biomolecules with metallic nanoparticles.