title: Multifunctional graphene micro-islands: Rapid, low-temperature plasma-enabled synthesis and facile integration for bioengineering and genosensing applications.
abstract: Here, we present a rapid, low-temperature (200°C) plasma-enabled synthesis of graphene micro-islands (GMs). Morphological analyses of GMs by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) feature a uniform and open-networked array of aggregated graphene sheets. Structural and surface chemical characterizations by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) support the presence of thin graphitic edges and reactive oxygen functional groups. We demonstrate that these inherent properties of GMs enable its multifunctional capabilities as a bioactive interface. GMs exhibit a biocompatibility of 80% cell viability with primary fibroblast lung cells after 5 days. Further, GMs were assembled into an impedimetric genosensor, and its performance was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). A dynamic sensing range of 1pM to 1nM is reported, and a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 2.03×10-13M is deduced, with selectivity to single-RNA-base mismatched sequences. The versatile nature of GMs may be explored to enable multi-faceted bioactive platforms for next-generation personalized healthcare technologies.
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Manufacturing, P.O. Box 218, 36 Bradfield Road, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia; School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Shafique
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pineda
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Manufacturing, P.O. Box 218, 36 Bradfield Road, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia; School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Fabricio Frizera
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Borghi
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Manufacturing, P.O. Box 218, 36 Bradfield Road, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia.
authors.forename: Dong Han
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Manufacturing, P.O. Box 218, 36 Bradfield Road, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yick
authors.affiliation: National Measurement Institute (NMI), Nanometrology, 36 Bradfield Road, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia.
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lawn
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Manufacturing, P.O. Box 218, 36 Bradfield Road, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia; School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: van der Laan
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Manufacturing, P.O. Box 218, 36 Bradfield Road, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia.
authors.forename: Zhao Jun
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Manufacturing, P.O. Box 218, 36 Bradfield Road, Lindfield, NSW 2070, Australia; School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Institute for Future Environments and Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, School of Chemistry, Physics, and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia. Electronic address: kostya.ostrikov@csiro.au.
authors.forename: Kostya Ken
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Ostrikov
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D003080:Cold Temperature; D058266:Dielectric Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000032:analysis*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D058626:Plasma Gases / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D035683:MicroRNAs; D058626:Plasma Gases; D006108:Graphite
keywords: Biocompatibility; Biomaterials; Biosensor; Graphene; Low-temperature plasma; Plasma nanoscience