Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Sep 20;49(9):2031-40.
doi: 10.1021/acs.accounts.6b00333. Epub 2016 Sep 7.

Nanoscale Electrochemical Sensor Arrays: Redox Cycling Amplification in Dual-Electrode Systems

Affiliations

Nanoscale Electrochemical Sensor Arrays: Redox Cycling Amplification in Dual-Electrode Systems

Bernhard Wolfrum et al. Acc Chem Res. .

Abstract

Micro- and nanofabriation technologies have a tremendous potential for the development of powerful sensor array platforms for electrochemical detection. The ability to integrate electrochemical sensor arrays with microfluidic devices nowadays provides possibilities for advanced lab-on-a-chip technology for the detection or quantification of multiple targets in a high-throughput approach. In particular, this is interesting for applications outside of analytical laboratories, such as point-of-care (POC) or on-site water screening where cost, measurement time, and the size of individual sensor devices are important factors to be considered. In addition, electrochemical sensor arrays can monitor biological processes in emerging cell-analysis platforms. Here, recent progress in the design of disease model systems and organ-on-a-chip technologies still needs to be matched by appropriate functionalities for application of external stimuli and read-out of cellular activity in long-term experiments. Preferably, data can be gathered not only at a singular location but at different spatial scales across a whole cell network, calling for new sensor array technologies. In this Account, we describe the evolution of chip-based nanoscale electrochemical sensor arrays, which have been developed and investigated in our group. Focusing on design and fabrication strategies that facilitate applications for the investigation of cellular networks, we emphasize the sensing of redox-active neurotransmitters on a chip. To this end, we address the impact of the device architecture on sensitivity, selectivity as well as on spatial and temporal resolution. Specifically, we highlight recent work on redox-cycling concepts using nanocavity sensor arrays, which provide an efficient amplification strategy for spatiotemporal detection of redox-active molecules. As redox-cycling electrochemistry critically depends on the ability to miniaturize and integrate closely spaced electrode systems, the fabrication of suitable nanoscale devices is of utmost importance for the development of this advanced sensor technology. Here, we address current challenges and limitations, which are associated with different redox cycling sensor array concepts and fabrication approaches. State-of-the-art micro- and nanofabrication technologies based on optical and electron-beam lithography allow precise control of the device layout and have led to a new generation of electrochemical sensor architectures for highly sensitive detection. Yet, these approaches are often expensive and limited to clean-room compatible materials. In consequence, they lack possibilities for upscaling to high-throughput fabrication at moderate costs. In this respect, self-assembly techniques can open new routes for electrochemical sensor design. This is true in particular for nanoporous redox cycling sensor arrays that have been developed in recent years and provide interesting alternatives to clean-room fabricated nanofluidic redox cycling devices. We conclude this Account with a discussion of emerging fabrication technologies based on printed electronics that we believe have the potential of transforming current redox cycling concepts from laboratory tools for fundamental studies and proof-of-principle analytical demonstrations into high-throughput devices for rapid screening applications.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources