Detection of charged macromolecules by means of fi eld-effect devices (FEDs): possibilities and limitations - Electrochemical Sensors, Biosensors and Their Biomedical Applications - page 206

way to guarantee reproducible and reliable biosensor signals. One approach taking this
into consideration has been recently introduced by the authors: in contrast to “conven-
tional” fi eld-effect-based DNA sensors, the new approach takes advantage of the DNA
hybridization-induced redistribution of the ion concentration within the intermolecular
spaces as a detection mechanism. Both theoretical calculations as well as preliminary
experiments with synthetic ssDNA and polyelectrolyte multilayers could demonstrate
a substantial sensor signal on the order of several tens of millivolts. Moreover, the new
biosensor concept is capable of working in low ionic-strength as well as high ionic-
strength solutions.
To solve and at the same time to deeply understand the quite complicated and multi-
disciplinary task of fi eld-effect-based DNA biosensors, many disciplines and research
fi elds, scientists from bio- and electrochemistry, biophysics, device engineering, and
analytics should work hand in hand.
7.7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank A. Cherstvy for theoretical calculations, S. Ingebrandt for valuable
discussions, and M. Abouzar for technical support. Part of the work was supported by
the Ministerium für Innovation, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie des Landes
NRW (Germany).
7.8 REFERENCES
1. A. Poghossian and M.J. Schöning, Silicon-based chemical and biological fi eld-effect sensors, in
Encyclopedia of Sensors (C.A. Grimes, E.C. Dickey, and M.V. Pishko, eds), Vol. 9, pp. 463-533.
American Scientifi c Publisher, Stevenson Ranch, 2006.
2. M.J. Schöning and A. Poghossian, Recent advances in biologically sensitive fi eld-effect transistors.
Analyst 127 , 1137-1151 (2002).
3. G.F. Blackburn, Chemically sensitive fi eld-effect transistors, in Biosensors: Fundamentals and Applications
(A.P.F. Turner, I. Karube, and G.S. Wilson, eds), pp. 481-530. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1987).
4. P. Bergveld and A. Sibbald, Analytical and Biomedical Applications of Ion-Selective Field-Effect
Transistors . Elsevier, Amsterdam (1988).
5. M. Grattarola and G. Massobrio, Bioelectronics Handbook: MOSFETs, Biosensors and Neurons.
McGraw-Hill, New York (1998).
6. P. Bergveld, Thirty years of ISFETOLOGY: what happened in the past 30 years and what may happen
in the next 30 years. Sens . Actuators B 88 , 1-20 (2003).
7. M.J. Schöning, “Playing around” with fi eld-effect sensors on the basis of EIS structures, LAPS and
ISFETs. Sensors 5 , 126-138 (2005).
8. A. Poghossian, T. Yoshinobu, A. Simonis, H. Ecken, H. Lüth and M.J. Schöning, Penicillin detection
by means of fi eld-effect based sensors: EnFET, capacitive EIS sensor or LAPS? Sens. Actuators B 78 ,
237-242 (2001).
9. C.H. Mastrangelo, DNA analysis systems on a chip, in Solid-State Chemical and Biochemical Sensors
(P. Vincenzini and L. Dori, eds), pp. 465-476. Techna, Faenza (1999).
10. P. de-los-Santos-Alvarez, M. Jesus Lobo-Castanon, A.J. Miranda-Ordieres, and P. Tunon-Blanco,
Current strategies for electrochemical detection of DNA with solid electrodes. Anal. Bioanal. Chem .
378 , 104-118 (2004).