Ultrasensitive Detection of SARS-CoV‑2 Antibody by Graphene Field-Effect Transistors

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 21; no. 19; pp. 7897 - 7904
• Main Authors: Kang, Hua, Wang, Xuejun, Guo, Mingquan, Dai, Changhao, Chen, Renzhong, Yang, Lei, Wu, Yanling, Ying, Tianlei, Zhu, Zhaoqin, Wei, Dapeng, Liu, Yunqi, Wei, Dacheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 13.10.2021
• Subjects: SARS-CoV-2; biosensor; antibody; field-effect transistor; spike S1 protein
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c00837

The fast spread of SARS-CoV-2 has severely threatened the public health. Establishing a sensitive method for SARS-CoV-2 detection is of great significance to contain the worldwide pandemic. Here, we develop a graphene field-effect transistor (g-FET) biosensor and realize ultrasensitive SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection with a limit of detection (LoD) down to 10–18 M (equivalent to 10–16 g mL–1) level. The g-FETs are modified with spike S1 proteins, and the SARS-CoV-2 antibody biorecognition events occur in the vicinity of the graphene surface, yielding an LoD of ∼150 antibodies in 100 μL full serum, which is the lowest LoD value of antibody detection. The diagnoses time is down to 2 min for detecting clinical serum samples. As such, the g-FETs leverage rapid and precise SARS-CoV-2 screening and also hold great promise in prevention and control of other epidemic outbreaks in the future.