Engineering defects in SAMs of alkylthiols for improved biosensing strategies

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Biosensors are a class of device engineered to recognize a target biomolecule in a given environment. They have been used in the medical community for the early detection and treatment of disease but are also desirable as methods of detecting biological warfare agents. As such, the attributes of a sensor often include minaturized size, high specificity, multi-functionality and the absence of false positives. With the ever changing requirements of the sensor, new methods for the creation and characterization of the sensor material are ongoing. Typically the bio-recognition event is based on molecular binding with a substrate and surface modification strategies exist to functionalize the material with specific receptor groups. To enhance possible multi-functionality, a variety of receptor groups is desirable and is made possible through surface patterning methods. Our research focuses on the use of electrochemical techniques to uniquely design and characterize a surface coated with organic-receptor materials in a patterned geometry. We will combine our experience with surface patterning of bulk surfaces to decorate gold nanoparticles in a similar manner. Coupling the device to a spectroscopic method of Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy (SPR) will enhance our detection schemes beyond typical SPR investigations.