Wasfi Asma, Awwad Falah, Gelovani Juri George, Qamhieh Naser, Ayesh Ahmad I
Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates.
Zayed Center for Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2022 Jul 31;12(15):2638. doi: 10.3390/nano12152638.
Biomolecular detection methods have evolved from simple chemical processes to laboratory sensors capable of acquiring accurate measurements of various biological components. Recently, silicon nanowire field-effect transistors (SiNW-FETs) have been drawing enormous interest due to their potential in the biomolecular sensing field. SiNW-FETs exhibit capabilities such as providing real-time, label-free, highly selective, and sensitive detection. It is highly critical to diagnose infectious diseases accurately to reduce the illness and death spread rate. In this work, a novel SiNW-FET sensor is designed using a semiempirical approach, and the electronic transport properties are studied to detect the COVID-19 spike protein. Various electronic transport properties such as transmission spectrum, conductance, and electronic current are investigated by a semiempirical modeling that is combined with a nonequilibrium Green's function. Moreover, the developed sensor selectivity is tested by studying the electronic transport properties for other viruses including influenza, rotavirus, and HIV. The results indicate that SiNW-FET can be utilized for accurate COVID-19 identification with high sensitivity and selectivity.
生物分子检测方法已从简单的化学过程发展到能够对各种生物成分进行精确测量的实验室传感器。近年来，硅纳米线场效应晶体管（SiNW-FET）因其在生物分子传感领域的潜力而备受关注。SiNW-FET具有实时、无标记、高选择性和高灵敏度检测等能力。准确诊断传染病对于降低疾病和死亡率的传播至关重要。在这项工作中，采用半经验方法设计了一种新型SiNW-FET传感器，并研究了其电子输运特性以检测新冠病毒刺突蛋白。通过结合非平衡格林函数的半经验建模，研究了传输谱、电导和电子电流等各种电子输运特性。此外，通过研究包括流感病毒、轮状病毒和艾滋病毒在内的其他病毒的电子输运特性，测试了所开发传感器的选择性。结果表明，SiNW-FET可用于高灵敏度和高选择性地准确识别新冠病毒。
