Blood glucose sensing by back gated transistor strips sensitized by CuO hollow spheres and rGO

Graphene transistor-based biosensors for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2

Field-effect transistor (FET) biosensors use FETs to detect changes in the amount of electrical charge caused by biomolecules like antigens and antibodies. COVID-19 can be detected by employing these biosensors by immobilising bio-receptor molecules that bind to the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the FET channel surface and subsequent monitoring of the changes in the current triggered by the virus. Graphene Field-effect Transistor (GFET)-based biosensors utilise graphene, a two-dimensional material with high electrical conductivity, as the sensing element. These biosensors can rapidly detect several biomolecules including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for COVID-19. GFETs are ideal for real-time infectious illness diagnosis due to their great sensitivity and specificity. These graphene transistor-based biosensors could revolutionise clinical diagnostics by generating fast, accurate data that could aid pandemic management. GFETs can also be integrated into point-of-care (POC) diagnostic equipment. Recent advances in GFET-type biosensors for SARS-CoV-2 detection are discussed here, along with their associated challenges and future scope.

Integrated electronic/fluidic microneedle system for glucose sensing and insulin delivery

Background: Precise and dynamic blood glucose regulation is paramount for both diagnosing and managing diabetes. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) coupled with insulin pumps forms an artificial pancreas, enabling closed-loop control of blood glucose levels. Indeed, this integration necessitates advanced micro-nano fabrication techniques to miniaturize and combine sensing and delivery modules on a single electrode. While microneedle technology can mitigate discomfort, concerns remain regarding infection risk and potential sensitivity limitations due to their short needle length. Methods: This study presents the development of an integrated electronic/fluidic microneedle patch (IEFMN) designed for both glucose sensing and insulin delivery. The use of minimally invasive microneedles mitigates nerve contact and reduces infection risks. The incorporation of wired enzymes addresses the issue of "oxygen deprivation" during glucose detection by decreasing the reliance on oxygen. The glucose-sensing electrodes employ wired enzyme functionalization to achieve lower operating voltages and enhanced resilience to sensor interference. The hollow microneedles' inner channel facilitates precise drug delivery for blood glucose regulation. Results: Our IEFMN-based system demonstrated high sensitivity, selectivity, and a wide response range in glucose detection at relatively low voltages. This effectively reduced interference from both external and internal active substances. The microneedle array ensured painless and minimally invasive skin penetration, while wired enzyme functionalization not only lowered sensing potential but also improved glucose detection accuracy. In vivo, experiments conducted in rats showed that the device could track subcutaneous glucose fluctuations in real-time and deliver insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. Conclusions: Our work suggests that the IEFMN-based system, developed for glucose sensing and insulin delivery, exhibits good performance during in vivo glucose detection and drug delivery. It holds the potential to contribute to real-time, intelligent, and controllable diabetes management.

Multishell Copper Oxide Hollow Spheres Incorporated with Fatty Amines for High Light-To-Thermal Conversion

Composite phase change materials (PCMs) are of great importance for the storage and conversion of energy. In this study, a multishell metal oxide hollow microsphere (CuOHS) was prepared by the hydrothermal method, and a new composite PCM (CuOHS@PCMs) for energy storage and conversion purposes was developed by effectively absorbing fatty amines [namely, tetradecylamine (TDA), hexadecylamine (HDA), and octadecylamine (ODA)] PCMs into the CuOHS via the abundant micropores located on the surface of the microsphere. The incorporation of uncontaminated phase alteration substances with CuOHS yields superior light absorption and leak prevention traits. The three CuOHS@PCMs, specifically CuOHS@TDA, CuOHS@HDA, and CuOHS@ODA, possess considerable latent heats of 198.8, 192.6, and 196.0 J·g-1, respectively, and exhibit desirable thermal properties even after completing 50 and 100 thermal cycles. Moreover, under illumination, the photothermal conversion efficiencies of the three variations of CuOHS@PCMs were 84.0, 81.4, and 78.0%. This CuOHS@PCMs, which are based on CuOHS, have considerable potential in the fields of photothermal conversion, solar energy harvesting, and storage.

Flexible Bio-Electronic Hybrid Metal-Oxide Channel FET as a Glucose Sensor

A high-sensitivity flexible field-effect transistor (FET) based glucose sensor is fabricated that can surpass the conventional electrochemical glucometers in terms of sensitivity, limit of detection, and other performance parameters. The proposed biosensor is based on the FET operation with the advantage of amplification which provides a high sensitivity and a very low limit of detection. Hybrid metal oxide (ZnO and CuO) nanostructures have been synthesized in the form of hollow spheres (ZnO/CuO-NHS). The FET was fabricated by depositing ZnO/CuO-NHS on the interdigitated electrodes. Glucose oxidase (GOx) was immobilized successfully on the ZnO/CuO-NHS. Three different outputs of the sensor are examined, the FET current, the relative current change, and the drain voltage. The sensitivity of the sensor for each output type has been calculated. The readout circuit can convert the current change to the voltage change that has been used for wireless transmission. The sensor has a very low limit of detection of 30 nM with satisfactory reproducibility, good stability, and high selectivity. The electrical response of the FET biosensor towards the real human blood serum samples demonstrated that it can be offered as a potential device for glucose detection in any medical application.

Development of a portable smart Glucometer with two electrode bio-electronic test strip patch based on Cu/Au/rGO/PEDOT:PSS

Today, the importance of blood sugar monitoring in diabetic patients has created a global need to develop new glucometers. This article presents the fabrication of a portable smart glucometer for monitoring blood glucose with high sensitivity. The glucometer employs a bio-electronic test strip patch fabricated by the structure of Cu/Au/rGO/PEDOT: PSS on interdigitated electrodes. We demonstrate that this structure based on two-electrode can be superior to the three-electrode electrochemical test strips available in the market. It has good electro-catalytic properties that indicate high-performance sensing of blood glucose. The proposed bio-electronic glucometer can surpass the commercial electrochemical test strips in terms of response time, detection range, and limit of detection. Electronic modules used for the fabrication of smart glucometers, such as a power supply, analog to digital converter, OLED screen, and, wireless transmission module, are integrated onto a printed circuit board and packaged as a bio-electronics glucometer, enabling the comfortable handling of this blood glucose monitoring. The characteristics of active layers biosensors were investigated by SEM, and AFM. The glucometer can monitor glucose in the wide detection range of 0-100 mM, the limit of detection (1 µM) with a sensitivity of 5.65 mA mM^-1 and excellent sensing performance such as high selectivity, high reproducibility, and good stability of fabricated test strips. With 11 human blood and serum samples, the glucometer demonstrated high clinical accuracy with the best value of RSD of 0.012.