Miniaturised silicon biosensors for the detection of triglyceride in blood serum

Abstract

This paper reports on the design and fabrication of electrolyte insulator semiconductor capacitor (EISCAP) devices to detect triglycerides in the form of microreactors fabricated by bulk micromachining of silicon. We have developed a complete triglyceride biochip wherein the enzyme for hydrolysis and the counter electrode for signal transduction are integrated with a miniaturised EISCAP sensor. A compact readout system that measures the triglyceride concentration in blood serum under test has been developed and is implemented in a Programmable System on Chip (PSoC®). The miniaturised EISCAP devices are tested using blood serum samples to estimate the triglyceride concentration within the clinical range of 50 to 150 mg dL⁻¹ and the time taken by the readout system to calibrate the sensor and to measure the triglyceride is less than 5 minutes.