Duration: 10.2024 – 09.2025

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Project team:

Prof. Thomas P. Burg, Ph.D.
FB 18, Integrated Micro- and Nanosystems (IMNS)

Prof. Dr. Beatrix Suess
FB 10, Synthetic RNA Biology

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Project description:

A central challenge in the field of biosensors is minimizing nonspecific signals that can arise from changes in sample composition or temperature. This project addresses this challenge by combining two orthogonal sensor modes: a self-referencing optical transducer and electrochemical measurements.

The project aims to create a platform that enables cost-effective measurement of the concentration of selected molecules in complex samples within minutes on-site. We achieve this by integrating a new optofluidic-electrochemical microsensor system with molecular recognition elements based on aptamers. This innovative combination promises improved sensitivity and selectivity through a unique, patented self-referencing measurement principle.

The project lays the foundation for a widely applicable technology platform, consisting of functionalized test chips and an opto-electronic reading system. The complexity of the test chips is comparable to well-known lateral flow test strips. The reader device uses only simple components, similar to those found in optical disc drives. The innovation lies in the special structuring and functionalization of the test surfaces, enabling quantitative measurement with effective suppression of interfering background signals.

In an interdisciplinary approach, the devices will be manufactured in the cleanroom facility of the IMNS department at the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, while the RNA-based bioreceptors (aptamers) will be developed by the department of synthetic RNA biology at the Institute of Biology. Surface functionalization and measurements will be carried out in close collaboration between both teams.