💉NTT > Successful Measurement of Ion Concentrations in Serum Using Nanoscale Silicon Transistor
NTT in collaboration with the French National Center for Scientific Research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique CNRS), and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), has discovered that the a variety of cations in aqueous solution in contact with the surface of a nanoscale silicon transistor change the current flowing through the transistor.
By utilizing this phenomenon, the researchers have succeeded in measuring cation concentrations in blood serum.
Transistor-based ion sensors usually require the addition of ion selective layers to distinguish and detect specific ions, resulting in complex structures and systems.
The research team confirmed that by exploiting ion response unique to nanoscale surface, a variety of ions can be measured without requiring the use of ion selective layers. This achievement is expected to lead to the development of sophisticated sensors that exploit new surface chemistry.
The findings will be published in the online edition of the British journal Nature Materials on February 5, 2018 (UK time).