EFRI 2-DARE: Functionalized Monolayer Heterostructures for Biosensors with Optical Readout

EFMA-1542879PI：Johnson，Alan T.这个项目将开发由耦合到二维原子晶体的生物分子组成的新的化学传感器。生物分子将通过结合液体和空气样本中的化学目标来充当传感器。当化学目标被耦合的生物分子结合时，原子晶体层将通过改变它们的光学或电子性质来起到读出的作用。该团队将探索几种能够将特定目标与各种原子晶体结合的生物分子，这些原子晶体由名为过渡金属二卤化物的化合物组成。该项目将涉及水晶层的制造、其电子和光学性质的测量、生物分子的附着以及由此产生的传感器能力的分析。实验将与计算建模一起进行，以了解原子晶体的响应并预测传感器性能。该项目的结果将导致改进的化学传感器具有前所未有的灵敏度和特异性，适用于各种应用，包括疾病诊断、环境监测和执法。该团队将利用该项目提高当地社区对纳米生物技术前沿研究的认识，并让学生研究人员参与进来，特别是在科学和工程领域传统上代表性较低的群体的成员。该项目的目标是发展所需的基本科学和工程知识，以推动纳米生物传感器的研究，实现具有光学和/或电子读数的过渡金属二卤化物生物传感器。该团队将开发可扩展的化学气相沉积方法，以大面积合成MoS2、WS2、SnS2和通过材料探索确定的其他材料。这些系统的材料特性将使用先进的结构、化学、光学、电子和扫描探头测量的组合进行严格的基准测试。一套全面的化学功能化技术将被开发出来，适用于制造具有等离子体、纳米光子和/或电子读出的蛋白质功能化生物传感器。我们将系统地研究化学官能化对其电学和光学性质的影响。这些测量将与适用于模拟生物传感器响应的多尺度计算模型相关联，目的是开发适用于预测生物传感器性能和指导传感器设计的模拟方法。

EFMA - 1542879PI: Johnson, Alan T.This project will develop new chemical sensors composed of biological molecules coupled to two-dimensional atomic crystals. The biological molecules will act as sensors by binding chemical targets in liquid and air samples. The atomic crystal layers will act as readouts by changing their optical or electronic properties when chemical targets are bound by the coupled biological molecules. The team will explore several biological molecules capable of binding specific targets coupled to various atomic crystals composed of compounds called transition metal dichalcogenides. The project will involve fabrication of the crystal layers, measurements of their electronic and optical properties, attachment of the biological molecules, and analysis of the resulting sensor capabilities. Experiments will be conducted in tandem with computational modeling to understand the response of the atomic crystals and predict sensor performance. Results of the project will lead to improved chemical sensors with unprecedented sensitivity and specificity for a variety of applications, including diagnosis of disease, environmental monitoring and law enforcement. The team will use the project to increase awareness of local communities about research at the frontier of nano-biotechnology and to involve student researchers, especially members of groups traditionally underrepresented in science and engineering. The goal of the project is to develop the basic scientific and engineering knowledge needed to advance nano-biosensor research towards implementation of transition metal dichalcogenides-based biosensors with optical and/or electronic readout. The team will develop scalable chemical vapor deposition approaches to large-area synthesis of MoS2, WS2, SnS2, and other materials identified through materials exploration. The material properties of these systems will be rigorously benchmarked using a combination of advanced structural, chemical, optical, electronic, and scanned probe measurements. A comprehensive set of chemical functionalization techniques will be developed suitable for fabrication of protein-functionalized biosensors with plasmonic, nanophotonic, and/or electronic readout. The impact of chemical functionalization on the electrical and optical properties will be systematically investigated. The measurements will be correlated with multi-scale computational models appropriate for simulating the response of the biosensors, with the goal of developing simulation methodologies suitable for predicting biosensor performance and guiding sensor design.