CMOS compatible anodic Al2O3 based sensors for bacteria detection

Rapid, real-time detection of pathogenic microorganisms is an emerging evolving field of research, especially for microorganisms that pose a major threat to public health. Alumina covered interdigitated capacitive microsensors were previously designed in our laboratory for DNA hybridization electrical detection (LOD of 30 nM target DNA). The device is constructed with standard CMOS materials. We show here that when coated with an appropriate anti- Staphylococcus aureus monoclonal antibody (MoAb), this device also permits to specifically detect this bacteria. The binding of bacteria to the microsensors induce a significant capacitance shift that is proportional to the amount of immobilized bacteria, thus enabling a possible quantitative analysis