Bioelectronic system for the control and readout of enzyme logic gates

Abstract In this work we describe the development of a novel microelectronic backbone configured specifically for the control of biocomputing systems applied to diagnostic merits. The operation of the sensor system is validated towards the rapid assessment of pathological conditions arising from soft tissue injury (STI) and abdominal trauma (ABT) using NAND and AND Boolean enzyme logic gates, respectively. The miniaturized 19 × 19 mm device employs a custom-designed three-electrode potentiostat coupled with an integrator, voltage amplifier, comparator, and digital logic and is easily interfaced with a screen-printed electrode contingent. By implementing an adjustable threshold comparator, a precise decision threshold could be established corresponding to pathological levels of the target biomarkers. As a result, a rapid amperometric analysis tendered the diagnosis in a straightforward ‘YES’/‘NO’ digital format via the illumination of a light emitting diode. Using low quiescent current voltage regulators, the device is able to achieve microwatt power operation and can be sustained by a single 3 V coin-cell battery for over 45 h under continuous use. The low-power, low-cost, and miniaturized device meets the requirements of field-deployable logic gate amperometric sensors. Such a reconfigurable micro-/bioelectronic logic-based multi-parameter sensing system shows considerable potential for the assessment of key analytes in a multitude of relevant clinical, security, and environmental applications where go/no-go readout, rapid measurement, device miniaturization, and extended longevity on battery power are key requirements.