An Electrochemical Biomolecular Sensors Based on Polymeric Ion Conducting Nanopores for Medical Diagnostics

Abstract

In a biomimetic approach, the functionality of biological nanopores in living cells has been copied in order to create polymeric nanochannels. In analogy to the antitype in nature, the nanochannels are able to respond to the presence of a certain biomolecule to be detected in a way that an electrolyte ion current in an electrochemical set-up is influenced. By measuring this trans-nanochannel ion current, the molecule to be analyzed can be quantitatively determined. As an example, the fabrication and functionality of such a nanochannel-sensor for the biomolecule histamine is demonstrated and explained.