Microchips that can detect and diagnose diseases

These chips, which could eventually be as portable as a smartwatch, offer the potential to revolutionise healthcare diagnostics.

The research team, led by Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Davood Shahrjerdi, Herman F. Mark Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Elisa Riedo, and Industry Associate Professor Giuseppe de Peppo, demonstrated the ability to fabricate microchips with unparalleled sensitivity and scalability.

“This study opens new horizons in the field of biosensing,” Riedo stated. “Microchips, the backbone of smartphones, computers, and other smart devices, have transformed the way people communicate, entertain, and work. Similarly, today, our technology will allow microchips to revolutionise healthcare, from medical diagnostics to environmental health.”

The chips utilise field-effect transistors (FETs), which serve as miniature electronic sensors. FETs convert biological markers into digital signals, enabling faster results and simultaneous testing for multiple diseases.

“This advanced approach enables faster results, testing for multiple diseases simultaneously, and immediate data transmission to healthcare providers,” Shahrjerdi explained.

These sensors have already demonstrated their ability to detect biomarkers at femtomolar concentrations – as low as one quadrillionth of a mole. However, scaling FET-based sensors to detect multiple pathogens on the same chip posed a challenge. Customising these sensors with bioreceptors such as antibodies required greater precision and scalability than current methods could deliver.

To overcome these limitations, the NYU team leveraged thermal scanning probe lithography (tSPL). This technique allows precise chemical patterning of polymer-coated chips at nanoscale resolutions, enabling individual FETs to be functionalised with different bioreceptors.

“tSPL, now a commercially available lithographic technology, has been key to functionalise each FET with different bio-receptors in order to achieve multiplexing,” Riedo noted.

In laboratory tests, FET sensors functionalised using tSPL achieved remarkable sensitivity, detecting as few as 3 attomolar (aM) concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins and distinguishing between influenza A and other viruses. This capability brings researchers closer to developing portable diagnostic devices for hospitals, homes, and beyond.

The research, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in Nanoscale, received support from Brooklyn-based biotechnology company Mirimus and Australia’s LendLease. Both organisations are partnering with NYU Tandon to advance wearable and home diagnostic technologies.

“This research shows off the power of the collaboration between industry and academia, and how it can change the face of modern medicine,” remarked Prem Premsrirut, President and CEO of Mirimus.

Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli of UC Berkeley, a collaborator on the project, emphasised the broader applications of the technology: “Companies such as LendLease and other developers involved in urban regeneration are searching for innovative solutions like this to sense biological threats in buildings. Biodefense measures like this will be a new infrastructural layer for the buildings of the future.”

As semiconductor manufacturing continues to evolve, the integration of billions of nanoscale FETs on microchips is becoming increasingly practical. These advancements could pave the way for sophisticated diagnostic tools capable of detecting multiple diseases in real time, offering a level of speed and accuracy that has the potential to transform modern medicine.

The collaborative efforts between NYU Tandon and its industry partners mark a significant step forward in the quest for accessible, portable, and scalable disease detection technologies.