Reduced graphene oxide–based field effect transistors for the detection of E7 protein of human papillomavirus in saliva

Aspermair, Patrik; Mishyn, Vladyslav; Bintinger, Johannes; Happy, Henri; Bagga, Komal; Subramanian, Palaniappan; Knoll, Wolfgang; Boukherroub, Rabah; Szunerits, Sabine

Several challenging biological sensing concepts have been realized using electrolyte-gated reduced graphene oxide field effect transistors (rGO-FETs). In this work, we demonstrate the interest of rGO-FET for the sensing of human papillomavirus (HPV), one of the most common sexually transmitted viruses and a necessary factor for cervical carcinogenesis. The highly sensitive and selective detection of the HPV-16 E7 protein relies on the attractive semiconducting characteristics of pyrene-modified rGO functionalized with RNA aptamer Sc5-c3. The aptamer-functionalized rGO-FET allows for monitoring the aptamer-HPV-16 E7 protein binding in real time with a detection limit of about 100 pg mL(−1) (1.75 nM) for HPV-16 E7 from five blank noise signals (95% confidence level). The feasibility of this method for clinical application in point-of-care technology is evaluated using HPV-16 E7 protein suspended in saliva and demonstrates the successful fabrication of a promising field effect transistor biosensor for HPV diagnosis. Graphical abstract [Image: see text]