Top-Down Fabricated Silicon Nanowire Arrays for Field-Effect Detection of Prostate-Specific Antigen

Highly sensitive electrical detection of biomarkers for the early stage screening of cancer is desired for future, ultrafast diagnostic platforms. In the case of prostate cancer (PCa), the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is of prime interest and its detection in combination with other PCa-relevant biomarkers in a multiplex approach is advised. Toward this goal, we demonstrate the label-free, potentiometric detection of PSA with silicon nanowire ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (Si NW-ISFET) arrays. To realize the field-effect detection, we utilized the DNA aptamer-receptors specific for PSA, which were covalently and site-specifically immobilized on Si NW-ISFETs. The platform was used for quantitative detection of PSA and the change in threshold voltage of the Si NW-ISEFTs was correlated with the concentration of PSA. Concentration-dependent measurements were done in a wide range of 1 pg/mL to 1 μg/mL, which covers the clinical range of interest. To confirm the PSA-DNA aptamer binding on the Si NW surfaces, a sandwich-immunoassay based on chemiluminescence was implemented. The electrical approach using the Si NW-ISFET platform shows a lower limit of detection and a wide dynamic range of the assay. In future, our platform should be utilized to detect multiple biomarkers in one assay to obtain more reliable information about cancer-related diseases.