Coronavirus RNA Sensor Using Single-Stranded DNA Bonded to Sub-Percolated Gold Films on Monolayer Graphene Field-Effect Transistors

TL;DR

This paper presents a rapid, highly sensitive graphene FET biosensor for SARS-CoV-2 mRNA detection using ultrathin gold films bonded to ssDNA probes, achieving femtomolar detection limits in under a minute.

Contribution

It introduces a novel gold film coating on graphene FETs to enhance hybridization and detection of viral mRNA with unprecedented speed and sensitivity.

Findings

Detection limit of 1 aM for SARS-CoV-2 mRNA

Detection time less than 1 minute

Linear sensitivity of 22 mV per molar decade

Abstract

Electrical detection of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a promising approach to enhancing transcriptomics and disease diagnostics because of its sensitivity, rapidity, and modularity. Reported here is a fast SARS-CoV-2 mRNA biosensor (<1 minute) with a limit of detection of 1 aM, and dynamic range of 4 orders of magnitude and a linear sensitivity of 22 mV per molar decade. These figures of merit were obtained on photoresistlessly patterned monolayer graphene field-effect transistors (FETs) derived from commercial four-inch graphene on 90 nm of silicon dioxide on p-type silicon. Then, to facilitate mRNA hybridization, graphene sensing mesa were coated with an ultrathin sub-percolation threshold gold film for bonding 3'-thiolated single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (ssDNA) probes complementary to SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid phosphoprotein (N) gene. Sub-percolated gold was used to minimize the distance between the graphene material and surface hybridization events. The liquid-transfer characteristics of the graphene FETs repeatedly shows correlation between the Dirac voltage and the copy number of polynucleotide. Ultrathin percolated gold films on graphene FETs facilitate two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) mRNA biosensors for transcriptomic profiling.