The impact of the modified Poisson–Boltzmann model on protein bound to a lipid coated silicon nanowire field effect transistor biosensor in an electrolyte environment

ABSTRACT

The aim of this work was to analyse the electrostatic potential profile, various effects of electrolyte concentrations, and the influences of surface charge on a protein bound to a lipid coated Silicon nanowire field effect transistor (Si-NW FET) biosensor by implementing the modified Poisson–Boltzmann (MPB) model. In this work, we modelled a lipid monolayer-coated Si-NW FET for the sensing of proteins, which consisted of variable amounts of aspartic acid. The electrostatic potential profile, protein charge distributions, the response to various electrolyte concentration, and the impacts of various surface charge were studied by implementing the MPB model with the Si-NW FET biosensor. Additionally, a comparison between the use of the MPB and the Poisson–Boltzmann model in studying the effects of various surface charges was carried out. Taken together, it was found that the MPB model showed a higher resolution in studying the Si-NW FET biosensor model when higher concentrations and surface charges were administered.

KEYWORDS:

• Lipid coated NWFET
• biosensor modelling
• protein sensing
• MPB modelling

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the facilities and support provided by the Management of PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.