Development of a Compact Electrical Impedance Measurement Circuit for Protein Detection Two-electrode Impedance Micro-sensor

Abstract

Development of compact and low-cost electronic circuits in the biosensor field is an essential demand. Especially, the design of noise reduction sections plays an important role in the measurement of small biosensing signals. This study develops an electrical impedance measurement circuit board to apply in the protein pre-concentration and detection microfluidic chips with integrated two-electrode impedance micro-sensor. A lock-in amplifier is applied in the circuit board to measure the impedance profile in the frequency range 10–200 kHz. An investigation on several ratios of signal to noise (SNRs) is conducted to indicate the ability of the proposed design in eliminating noise signals. Subsequently, a total impedance and series capacitance-based analysis approach from the recorded impedance data is demonstrated to be suitable for this protein chip in the frequencies range from 10 to 200 kHz. The obtained results enable a potential method in point-of-care diagnostic applications.

KEYWORDS:

• Capacitance-based measurement
• Impedance immunosensor
• Lock-in amplifier
• Protein detection

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology for the financial support through a project entitled “Development of NSE protein detection platform based on preconcentrating nanofluidic chips and impedance detection technique for lung cancer diagnosis”. (NDT.101.TW/21)

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology through a project entitled Development of NSE protein detection platform based on preconcentrating nanofluidic chips and impedance detection technique for lung cancer diagnosis (NDT.101.TW/21).

Notes on contributors

Tuan Vu Quoc

Tuan Vu Quoc received the BS degree in physics and the MSc degree in electronic engineering from Vietnam National University, Hanoi, in 2007 and 2014, respectively. He is currently is a researcher at the Vietnam Academy of Sciences and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam. He is pursuing his PhD in the VNU – University of Engineering and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam. His areas of interest include sensor, fluidic sensor, microfluidic, and low lever measurement. E-mail: [email protected]

Viet Nguyen Ngoc

Ngoc-Viet Nguyen received the BS and MSc degrees from the University of Engineering and Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2013 and 2015, respectively. He received the PhD degree of mechanical engineering in 2019 from the National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan. His research interests are in micro/nanosensors, MEMS technology, biological engineering, numerical simulation, and mechatronics. E-mail: [email protected]

Bao-Anh Hoang

Bao-Anh Hoang received the BS degree in physics from the VNU University of Science in 2017, and MSc degree in electrical engineering from VNU University of Engineering and Technology, Vietnam, in 2019. Currently, she is a lecturer at the University of Engineering and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam. Her main research involves the study and development of electronic biosensors and microfluidic chip. E-mail: [email protected]

Chun-Ping Jen

Chun-Ping Jen received the BS and PhD degrees from National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, in 1995 and 2000, respectively. He did his Post-Doctoral Research with National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, from 2001 to 2004, and was visiting scholar and assistant research scientist with the Center for Applied Nanobioscience, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA, from 2004 to 2006. He is currently professor with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan. He is working on the development of micro/nanodevices of BioMEMS modules and multiphysical simulation. He has published more than 100 international journal and conference papers. E-mail: [email protected]

Trinh Chu Duc

Trinh Chu Duc received his BS in physics from Hanoi University of Science, Hanoi, Vietnam, in 1998, MSc in electrical engineering from Vietnam National University, Hanoi, in 2002, and PhD degree from Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, in 2007. His doctoral research concerned piezoresistive sensors, polymeric actuators, sensing microgrippers for microparticle handling, and microsystems technology. He is currently professor with the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications, VNU University of Engineering and Technology, Vietnam. His current interests include biosensors, microfluidic, MEMS sensors, and actuators. He had been dean of the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications, UET from 2015 before becoming vicerector of the VNU University of Engineering and Technology, Vietnam. He has been head of the Microelectromechanical Systems and Microsystems Department, since 2011. E-mail: [email protected]

Tung Thanh Bui

Tung Thanh Bui received his BS in electrical engineering from Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNUH) in 2004, and ME and DEng degrees in science and engineering from Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan, in 2008 and 2011, respectively. From 2011 to 2015, he was a post-doctoral researcher with the 3D Integration System Group, Nanoelectronics Research Institute (NeRI), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan. Currently, he is an associate professor at the Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunication (FET), VNU University of Engineering and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam. His current interests include microfluidic, biosensors, MEMS sensors, and actuators.