High-performance dopamine sensors based on whole-graphene solution-gated transistors

Abstract

Solution-gated graphene transistors with graphene as both channel and gate electrodes are fabricated for the first time and used as dopamine sensors with the detection limit down to 1 nM, which is three orders of magnitude better than that of conventional electrochemical measurements. The sensing mechanism is attributed to the change of effective gate voltage applied on the transistors induced by the electro-oxidation of dopamine at the graphene gate electrodes. The interference from glucose, uric acid, and ascorbic acid on the dopamine sensor is characterized. The selectivity of the dopamine sensor is dramatically improved by modifying the gate electrode with a thin Nafion film by solution process. This work paves the way for developing many other biosensors based on the solution-gated graphene transistors by specifically functionalizing the gate electrodes. Because the devices are mainly made of graphene, they are potentially low cost and ideal for high-density integration as multifunctional sensor arrays. Whole graphene solution-gated transistors with graphene as both channel and gate are fabricated for the first time and used as dopamine sensors with a detection limit down to 1 nM and excellent selectivity. The sensing mechanism is attributed to the change of effective gate voltage applied on the transistors induced by the electro-oxidation of dopamine at the graphene gate. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.