Large-Scale `Surface-Programmed Assembly' of Carbon Nanotube-Based Biosensors

The unique electrical properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes (swCNT) have generated a huge amount of research on nanoelectronic devices and nanosensors. However, a lack of mass-production method of such devices has been holding back their practical applications. Herein, we present a method to assemble a large scale array of swCNT-based biosensors. In this method, self-assembled monolayer patterns direct the `selective assembly' and `alignment' of swCNTs onto substrates in the swCNT solution without relying on any externals forces. Using this method combined with microfabrication, we successfully demonstrated the fabrication of 256 x 256 swCNT-junction array on transparent glass substrates. Furthermore, by immobilizing glucose oxidase or L-glutamate oxidase on the CNT junctions, we fabricated swCNT-based biosensors for real-time detection of glucose or L-glutamate, respectively.