NER: Biomolecular Detection Based on Active Hybrid Nanomaterial Sensors

智力优势：该NER项目的目标是设计高频微电子生物分子传感器，该传感器采用由分布在碳纳米管上的金纳米颗粒组成的混合纳米材料传感区域，从而实现比单独使用每种纳米材料的协同优势。将抗原或抗体偶联到金纳米颗粒上制备免疫传感器；碳纳米管/金纳米颗粒杂化结构的电导率是由与抗原/抗体结合相关的局部静电环境变化引起的。将设计一种适合于高频晶圆上探测的器件布局，并使用模型抗体/抗原系统来表征直流通过微波阻抗特性的变化。更广泛的影响：用于生物分子检测的低成本微电子生物传感器的可用性将通过其在临床诊断测试（作为疾病生物标志物的检测器）以及生物医学研究中的应用，对社会产生广泛的影响。这一项目将有可能导致用廉价的微电子设备取代繁琐的生物分子分析，这些设备能够加强生物医学发现并促进疾病的快速诊断和监测。作为一项跨学科的研究工作，拟议的项目将作为一个平台，为学习和发现创造一个独特的环境，在这个环境中，现有的跨学科本科和研究生课程将在工程和生物学之间得到扩展和加强。大学预科的中学生和未被充分代表的学生将通过与密尔沃基公立学校系统和密尔沃基科学与工程博览会的现有联系参与这项努力。

Intellectual Merit: The objective of this NER project is the design of high-frequency microelectronic biomolecular sensors which employ a hybrid nanomaterial sensing region consisting of gold nanoparticles distributed onto carbon nanotubes, thus achieving a synergistic advantage over each individual nanomaterial alone. Immunosensors will be fabricated in which antigen or antibody is conjugated onto the Au nanoparticles; modulation of the electrical conductivity of the hybrid carbon nanotube/gold nanoparticle structure results from changes in local electrostatic environment associated with antigen/antibody binding. A device layout suitable for high-frequency on-wafer probing will be designed, and variations in DC through microwave impedance properties will be characterized using a model antibody/antigen system.Broader Impacts: The availability of low-cost microelectronic biosensors for biomolecular detection will have a wide-ranging impact in society through their use in clinical diagnostic testing (as detectors of disease biomarkers) as well as in biomedical research. This project will potentially lead to the replacement of cumbersome biomolecular assays with inexpensive microelectronic devices capable of enhancing biomedical discovery and facilitating rapid diagnosis and monitoring of disease. As an interdisciplinary research effort, the proposed program will serve as a platform for creation of a unique environment for learning and discovery, in which an existing suite of interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate courses will be expanded and enhanced between engineering and biology. Pre-college secondary students and underrepresented students will participate in this effort through existing ties with the Milwaukee Public School System and the Milwaukee Science and Engineering Fair.