The goal is to develop bio-implantable sensors utilizing the unique material properties of graphene and boron nitride, which would offer much higher sensitivity for detecting concentration of various ions in blood and tissue in real time, enabling prediction of the onset of disease states before their clinical manifestation. The project activities would integrate research with education and training of high school, undergraduate and graduate students, with significant minority participation.
The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop novel graphene-based flexible ion-sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) sensors for the measurement of K+, Ca2+ and Na+ ion concentrations and correlated ion fluxes in cardiomyocytes and glial cells, with the overall objective of developing a new approach for assaying cell membrane ion transport in primary cell culture. The detection of the aforementioned ions is clinically significant as they serve as important bio-markers for onset of myocardial ischemia and epilepsy. The proposed graphene ISFET sensor array will enable critical understanding of K+, Ca2+ and Na+ membrane transport in glial cells and cardiomyocytes. The approach of ISFET development utilizing the novel properties of boron nitride and graphene addresses several critical issues including: (i) the complicacy, low throughput and cell invasiveness issues of patch clamp and microelectrode array based techniques, and (ii) the low sensitivity and degradation of commercially available Si-based ISFETs. The experimental plan includes growing cells directly on graphene and performing continuous, real-time and label-free measurements of ion fluxes in cardiomyocytes and glial cells. The measurements acquired are expected to provide electrophysiological properties of primary cells in culture, especially regulatory and drug-induced changes in their electrical properties. Successful completion would result in the development of useful ISFET sensors for in vivo detection of the onset of myocardial ischemia and epilepsy. As part of the educational and outreach activities, the PIs would each involve at least one undergraduate and one high school student to work on this project every year focusing strongly on recruiting minority students. The PIs would also integrate research results in a graduate course, and disseminate them through conference participation as well as research websites.
