Electric-field assisted silicon nanowire field effect transistor for the ultra-low concentration nucleic acid detection

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Ultra-low concentration nucleic acid detection is crucial for disease diagnosis and prognosis. Silicon nanowire field-effect transistors (SiNW FETs) are promising due to their sensitivity, real-time capabilities, and compact design. A critical consideration for FETs is the reaction time required for nucleic acid diffusion to the detection surface, especially at low concentrations. This study utilizes polycrystalline silicon nanowire FETs (poly-SiNW FETs) as biosensors, employing a negative voltage on the liquid gate used for detection to create an electric field. This field accelerates nucleic acid diffusion towards the sensor surface to interact with immobilized probes. We adjusted the gate voltages and target solution injection flow rates to identify optimal parameters for nucleic acid detection and how the electrical field accelerates hybridization kinetics. We varied the probe immobilization times to show that higher ligand density accelerates the interaction with the immobilized probe. The study demonstrated stable diffusion of target DNA by combining FET with an electric field of −1 V and a slow injection flow rate, reducing the equilibrium time from 60 to 20 min. Additional improvement was achieved by enhancing probe immobilization density and applying an electric field, resulting in a faster probe-target hybridization reaction rate. These efforts significantly improved the signal to maintain superior performance and reduced the time required to reach equilibrium. This research pioneers using an external electric field to expedite detection time in field-effect transistors, demonstrating the potential for accelerated nucleic acid detection in nanowire FETs.