Interfacial Super-Assembly of Nanofluidic Heterochannels from Layered Graphene and Alumina Oxide Arrays for Label-Free Histamine-Specific Detection

Nanofluidic devices with well-defined channels have shown great potential for biosensing, separation and, energy conversion. Recently, two-dimensional (2D) materials have been widely used for constructing novel nanofluidic devices owing to their high specific surface, abundant surface charge, and low cost. However, 2D-based nanofluidic devices for highly sensitive biosensing have drawn little attention. Herein, we developed a 2D material-based nanofluidic heterochannel with an asymmetric T-mode nanochannel structure and surface charge polarization distribution. This heterochannel was composed of layered graphene oxide modified with Na, Na-bis(carboxymethyl)-L-lysine (containing metal-nitrilotriacetic chelates, NTA) and an oxide array (NTA-GO/AAO), which can achieve remarkable selectivity, specificity, and label-free detection of the neurotransmitter histamine based on a metal ion displacement mechanism. A detection limit of 1 nIVI can be obtained using the NTA-GO/AAO heterochannel. This study provides a simple and label-free platform for developing a 2D-based nanofluidic heterochannel for specific molecular detection.

Automated summary

Two-dimensional materials are widely used for constructing novel nanofluidic devices, but have received little attention in highly sensitive biosensing. This study developed a 2D material-based nanofluidic heterochannel for specific molecular detection, achieving remarkable selectivity, specificity, and label-free detection of the neurotransmitter histamine.