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

该项目将开发由生物分子与二维原子晶体耦合组成的新型化学传感器。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束缚时，原子晶体层将通过改变其光学或电子特性来充当读出器。该团队将探索几种能够结合特定目标的生物分子，这些目标与由过渡金属二硫族化合物组成的各种原子晶体相结合。该项目将包括晶体层的制造，其电子和光学特性的测量，生物分子的附着，以及由此产生的传感器能力的分析。实验将与计算模型一起进行，以了解原子晶体的响应并预测传感器的性能。该项目的成果将改进化学传感器，使其具有前所未有的灵敏度和特异性，可用于各种应用，包括疾病诊断、环境监测和执法。该小组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，特别是传统上在科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体的成员参与进来。该项目的目标是发展所需的基础科学和工程知识，以推进纳米生物传感器研究，实现基于过渡金属二硫族化合物的具有光学和/或电子读出的生物传感器。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和其他通过材料探索确定的材料。这些系统的材料特性将使用先进的结构、化学、光学、电子和扫描探针测量的组合进行严格的基准测试。将开发一套全面的化学功能化技术，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。化学官能化对电学和光学性质的影响将被系统地研究。测量将与适合模拟生物传感器响应的多尺度计算模型相关联，目标是开发适合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.