Potential of a simplified measurement scheme and device structure for a low cost label-free point-of-care capacitive biosensor

A simplified measurement scheme and device structure aiming at developing a low cost, label-free, point-of-care capacitive biosensor were investigated. The detection principle is the increase of low frequency capacitance between two planar Al electrodes observed after antibody–antigen interaction. The electrodes, deposited on oxidized Si wafers, were covered with an antibody layer, with and without using self-assembled thiol monolayer. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and cardiac troponin T (TnT) were used as analytes to asses this proposal. The device was able to detect successfully TnT levels in the range 0.07 to 6.83 ng/mL in human serum from patients with cardiac diseases and in the range 0.01 ng/mL to 5 ng/mL for TnT in phosphate buffer saline. An equivalent circuit model able to reproduce the general behavior of experimental capacitance versus frequency curves was presented. The investigated features that have potential to reduce costs and simplify measurements were: use of single, low frequency (1 kHz) measurement signal, within the range of low cost portable capacitance meters; employment of a lower cost electrode material, aluminum, instead of gold electrodes; and use of simple and miniaturized planar two-electrodes arrangement, thus making a portable system for point-of-care applications.