A novel silicon nitride biosensor for specific antibody-antigen interaction

We herein report the fabrication and characterisation of a novel impedimetric immunosensor based on an electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) structure. It is a silicon nitride/aminosilane/glutaraldehyde/antibody biosensor specifically designed for the detection of antigens. This immunosensor was fabricated following the Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) method, followed by glutaraldehyde cross linker and anti-rabbit IgG immobilization. The high coverage area of the silane monolayer on silicon nitride surface was estimated with impedance spectroscopy technique and the molecular structure with Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) technique. The binding between antibody and antigen (Rabbit IgG) was monitored by measuring the resistance variation of the grafted layer. The developed immunosensor has a limit detection of 50 ng/ml of antigen. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.