TY - JOUR
T1 - Multifunctional terahertz microscopy for biochemical and chemical imaging and sensing
AU - Wang, Jin
AU - Ando, Masaki
AU - Nagata, Hiroki
AU - Yoshida, Sota
AU - Sakai, Kenji
AU - Kiwa, Toshihiko
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was partially funded by the JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists (grant number: 21K14169 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2023/1/15
Y1 - 2023/1/15
N2 - Laser-excited terahertz emission microscopy (LTEM) has exhibited great potential for studying the dynamic physical properties of various materials and device evaluation. In this study, an up-to-date version of LTEM, the terahertz chemical microscopy, was developed for biochemical and chemical imaging and sensing. By functionalizing a terahertz semiconductor emitter with an ion-sensitive membrane, a DNA aptamer, and a specific polymer, the change in the terahertz signal amplitude attributed to the surface electrical potential change was successfully detected. Accordingly, the measurement of calcium ions (Ca2+), stress biomarker cortisol, and 2, 4, 6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosive was achieved. Measured of charged Ca2+ was via the change in the electrical potential of the ion-sensitive membrane with ion accumulation. For non-charged cortisol and TNT measurements, the surface potential change was recorded by the conformational change of the negatively charged DNA aptamer bound to cortisol and the charge-transfer complex formation between TNT and polyethylenimine polymer, respectively. Moreover, the specificity of this sensing approach was demonstrated by molecular docking and measuring the interfering substances such as sodium ions, potassium ions, brain chemicals histamine and dopamine, and TNT analogues. The results showed that the developed multifunctional terahertz microscopy technique can be used for trace biochemical and chemical sensing via visualization of the terahertz amplitude distribution.
AB - Laser-excited terahertz emission microscopy (LTEM) has exhibited great potential for studying the dynamic physical properties of various materials and device evaluation. In this study, an up-to-date version of LTEM, the terahertz chemical microscopy, was developed for biochemical and chemical imaging and sensing. By functionalizing a terahertz semiconductor emitter with an ion-sensitive membrane, a DNA aptamer, and a specific polymer, the change in the terahertz signal amplitude attributed to the surface electrical potential change was successfully detected. Accordingly, the measurement of calcium ions (Ca2+), stress biomarker cortisol, and 2, 4, 6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosive was achieved. Measured of charged Ca2+ was via the change in the electrical potential of the ion-sensitive membrane with ion accumulation. For non-charged cortisol and TNT measurements, the surface potential change was recorded by the conformational change of the negatively charged DNA aptamer bound to cortisol and the charge-transfer complex formation between TNT and polyethylenimine polymer, respectively. Moreover, the specificity of this sensing approach was demonstrated by molecular docking and measuring the interfering substances such as sodium ions, potassium ions, brain chemicals histamine and dopamine, and TNT analogues. The results showed that the developed multifunctional terahertz microscopy technique can be used for trace biochemical and chemical sensing via visualization of the terahertz amplitude distribution.
KW - DNA aptamer
KW - Ion selective membrane
KW - Molecular docking
KW - Polyethylenimine polymer
KW - Surface electrical potential
KW - Terahertz microscopy
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114901
DO - 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114901
M3 - Article
C2 - 36410157
AN - SCOPUS:85142205260
SN - 0956-5663
VL - 220
JO - Biosensors and Bioelectronics
JF - Biosensors and Bioelectronics
M1 - 114901
ER -