Scalable Graphene Aptasensors for Drug Quantification

TL;DR

This paper presents a scalable, all-electronic graphene-based aptasensor for rapid, specific detection of the HIV drug tenofovir, demonstrating high sensitivity and potential for point-of-care drug monitoring.

Contribution

Developed a scalable graphene FET array functionalized with DNA aptamers for sensitive, specific, and rapid detection of tenofovir at clinically relevant levels.

Findings

Detection limit less than 1 ng/mL for tenofovir

Confirmed sensor specificity with negative controls

Potential for point-of-care drug monitoring

Abstract

Simpler and more rapid approaches for therapeutic drug-level monitoring are highly desirable to enable use at the point-of-care. We have developed an all-electronic approach for detection of the HIV drug tenofovir based on scalable fabrication of arrays of graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) functionalized with a commercially available DNA aptamer. The shift in the Dirac voltage of the GFETs varied systematically with the concentration of tenofovir in deionized water, with a detection limit less than 1 ng/mL. Tests against a set of negative controls confirmed the specificity of the sensor response. This approach offers the potential for further development into a rapid and convenient point-of-care tool with clinically relevant performance.