Enhancement ofHigh-

Performance Graphene
Biosensors for Cancer Detection
Victor Acero
The Pennsylvania State University
Tian Lab Mechanical Engineering
Principle Investigator: Tianhong Cui
Mentor: Shota Sando
 Our Problem
Elevated Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) levels are related to
liver cancer and placenta/fetus issues
Current AFP tests, such as ELISA, are not very sensitive, are
skill demanding, and are time demanding
Our Solution
Graphene Biosensors
Hyper sensitive to surrounding environment (2D)
In-vivo applications
Fabrication
Photolithography process is commonly used to make patterns of various
materials onto wafers.
Graphene/Gold interface and gap.

Current

Current
 Layer-By-Layer Self Assembly
PSS PDDA
Controllable thickness of Few- 2 cycles
Layer-Graphene
Control number of layers to alter
mechanical, electrical and optical
properties
Applicable to multiple substrates Graphene PDDA
(Plastic, Silicon, Glass, ect.) 5 cycles
Coat large areas with graphene

Graphene

Anion/Cation Surface Charge

Neutralizing
Physics of Sensor: How does it
work?
Main charge carrier is holes
Change in resistance through graphene varies with type
of charges near graphene
This test is performed before we functionalize our
sensors

Solution Solution

Graphene
pH Test
 Functionalization
Prepare the surface with Poly-L-Lysine which helps the Anti-AFP bind
to the graphene.
Bovine serum prevents AFP and ions from entering non-bonding
sites
AFP binds to the Anti-AFP, and generates an electric field that
changes the carrier density in the graphene.
Stern Field
AFP Test
Normalized AFP Sensing Data
 Noise Minimization
Will reduce noise in sensors by reducing the contact area
Varying strip width and gap width dimensions will be
used
Fabrication has to be tuned for these new designs
31 Strips 95 Strips 950 Strips

20 um strip 20 um strip 2 um strip

width width width
40 um gap 20 um gap 2 um gap
Sensor Enhancement Noise Data
No Strip
31 Strip 1
0.0055
95 Strip
0.1
0.0050 950 Strip

Power Spectrum Density (V^2/Hz)

0.01
Power Spedctrum Density (V^2/Hz) 0.0045
1E-3
0.0040
1E-4
0.0035
1E-5
0.0030
1E-6
1E-7
0.0025
1E-8
0.0020
1E-9
0.0015
1E-10
0.0010
1E-11
0.0005
1E-12
0.0000
1E-13
1E-14
-0.0005
10 2 10 4 1006 8 1000 10
Frequancy (Hz)
 Fabrication Problems

30 Seconds 25 Seconds 20 Seconds 12 Seconds

Conclusion
AFP Detection was successful
Faster, simpler, and more sensitive then ELISA
Noise reduction was successful
Fabrication problems arose
Future Plans
Improve sensor shape
Less strips but still reduce surface area
Improve Anti-AFP surface coating
Better alignment of Anti-AFP
Substrate change
Explore flexible substrates
Acknowledgements
Primary Investigator: Tianhong Cui
Mentor: Shota Sando
NNIN
MRSEC