Conducting polymer nanowire sensors
View Patent ↗Conducting polymer nanowires can be doped with analyte-binding species to create a nanowire that has a different conductivity depending on the presence or absence of the analyte.
1. A device for detecting an analyte, the device comprising:
a first and a second electrode;
a single, continuous doped conducting polymer nanowire connecting the first electrode to the second electrode; and
a circuit connected to the first and the second electrode for monitoring an electrical characteristic of the nanowire between the first and the second electrode;
wherein the doped conducting polymer nanowire is made of a doped conducting polymer material comprising an analyte-binding species incorporated into a conducting polymer material;
wherein the analyte-binding species is capable of binding to an analyte; and
wherein the electrical characteristic of the doped conducting polymer material in contact with a composition comprising the analyte is different from the electrical characteristic of the doped conducting polymer material not in contact with a composition substantially free of the analyte.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein
the analyte-binding species and analyte are selected from the group consisting of natural and synthetic antibodies and antibody fragments and their corresponding antigens;
natural and synthetic proteins and protein fragments and their corresponding ligands;
receptors and their ligands;
natural and synthetic polynucleotide and oligonucleotide sequences and their complementary sequences;
single and multiple strand, natural and synthetic nucleic acids and species binding to such single and multiple strand nucleic acids; and
DNA aptamers and their ligands.
3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the conducting polymer material is selected from a polyacetylene, polyaniline, polythiophene, polypyrrole, polyarylene, polyphenylene, poly(bisthiophenephenylene), poly-methylpyrrole, conjugated ladder polymer, poly(arylene vinylene), poly(arylene ethynylene), an organic derivative thereof, or an organometallic derivative thereof.
4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the polymer material is polypyrrole.
5. The device of claim 4 , wherein the analyte-binding species is avidin or a derivative of avidin.
6. The device of claim 5 , wherein the analyte is biotin or a derivative of biotin.
7. The device of claim 1 , wherein
the composition to be contacted with the doped conducting polymer material is a solid composition,
a gaseous composition,
a powdered solid composition, or
an aerosolized composition.
8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the electrical characteristic is resistance.