Modeling and simulation of field-effect biosensors (BioFETs) and their deployment on the nanoHUB

Citations Over TimeTop 11% of 2008 papers

Abstract

BioFETs (biologically active field-effect transistors) are biosensors with a semiconductor transducer. Due to recent experiments demonstrating detection by a field effect, they have gained attention as potentially fast, reliable, and low-cost biosensors for a wide range of applications. Their advantages compared to other technologies are direct, label-free, ultrasensitive, and (near) real-time operation. We have developed 2D and 3D multi-scale models for planar sensor structures and for nanowire sensors. The multi-scale models are indispensable due to the large difference in the characteristic length scales of the biosensors: the charge distribution in the biofunctionalized surface layer varies on the Angstrom length scale, the diameters of the nanowires are several nanometers, and the sensor lengths measure several micrometers. The multi-scale models for the electrostatic potential can be coupled to any charge transport model of the transducer. Conductance simulations of nanowire sensors with different diameters provide numerical evidence for the importance of the dipole moment of the biofunctionalized surface layer in addition to its surface charge. We have also developed a web interface to our simulators, so that other researchers can access them at the nanohub and perform their own investigations.

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