Nanoelectronic lab-on-a-chip sensors to detect and monitor DNA hybridization

Nanoelectronic circuits are emerging as a promising technology for lab-on-a-chip, molecular-scale biosensors. In this presentation, I will present the design of such sensors using functionalized nanocarbon materials and their principle of operation to detect and monitor the hybridization of DNA sequences. Carbon nanotubes or graphene ribbons are immersed in a microfluidics platform and functionalized with single-stranded DNA. Hybridization of the tethered DNA with its complementary sequence induces a specific change in the electrical conductance of the devices. First, I will present recent experiments based on this design to detect specific DNA sequences. Second, I will describe the miniaturization of this approach to the single-molecule scale, and its application to monitor DNA hybridization dynamics with single-molecule resolution. Finally, I will discuss applications of this emerging technique for lab-on-a-chip biomedical technology.