A CMOS magnetic microbead-based capacitive biosensor array with on-chip electromagnetic manipulation

Magnetic microbeads are widely used in biotechnology and biomedical research for manipulation and detection of cells and biomolecules. Most lab-on-chip systems capable of performing manipulation and detection require external instruments to perform one of the functions, leading to increased size and cost. This work aims at developing an integrated platform to perform these two functions by implementing electromagnetic microcoils and capacitive biosensors on a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) chip. Compared to most magnetic-type sensors, our detection method requires no externally applied magnetic fields and the associated fabrication is less complicated. In our experiment, microbeads coated with streptavidin were driven to the sensors in the center of microcoils with functionalized anti-streptavidin antibody. Detection of a single microbead was successfully demonstrated using a capacitance-to-frequency readout. The average capacitance changes for the experimental and control groups were −5.3 fF and −0.2 fF, respectively.

► Microcoils and capacitive sensors are integrated for driving and sensing magnetic labels.
► No external magnetic fields are required to magnetize the labels for detection.
► Detection of a single magnetic microbead functionalized with streptavidin is demonstrated.