Ti 3 C 2 MXene-Based Nanobiosensors for Detection of Cancer Biomarkers

Abstract

This chapter provides information about basic properties of MXenes (2D nanomaterials) that are attractive for a design of various types of nanobiosensors. The second part of the chapter discusses MXene synthesis and various protocols for modification of MXene making it a suitable matrix for immobilization of bioreceptors such as antibodies, DNA aptamers or DNA molecules. The final part of the chapter summarizes examples of MXene-based nanobiosensors developed using optical, electrochemical and nanomechanical transducing schemes. Operational characteristics of such devices such as sensitivity, limit of detection, assay time, assay reproducibility and potential for multiplexing are provided. In particular MXene-based nanobiosensors for detection of a number of cancer biomarkers are shown here. 1. MXenes: their precursors, characterization, unique properties and applications Nanomaterials of the 2D kind are in the research spotlight due to their superior properties like ultrathin structure and intriguing physico-chemical properties [1-3]. Graphene has made researchers believing in extracting single layer transition metal dichalcogenides, which in turn has led to extensive research dedicated towards 2D nanomaterials [4, 5]. Since their inception, 2D nanomaterials have been characterized to have exceptional electronic, mechanical, and optical properties. These outstanding characteristics have driven research to use them in almost all fields of materials science and nanotechnology [6-8]. Rather recently in 2011 and 2012, Gogotsi, Barsoum, and colleagues have successfully prepared a new kind of 2D nanomaterial-MXenes, composed of a large group of transition metal carbides and carbonitrides [9-13]. These 2D nanomaterials are found to possess many striking properties and boost attraction in applications such as energy storage [14-16], electromagnetic shielding [17, 18], water treatment [19, 20], disease treatment [21] and (bio)sensing [22, 23], MXenes are made up of atomic layers of different materials like transition metal carbides, nitrides, or carbonitrides. All MAX phases consist of two-dimensional slabs of close-packed alternating layers of M and A, where M is a transition metal, A is an A-group element and X is C and/or N [23].