Tuning the Bio-Nano Interface with Solid-Binding Peptides for Biosensor Applications

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2022The endeavored research involves surface modification of low-dimensional materials using rationally-designed solid-binding peptide biomolecules, wherein topics ranging from peptide self-assembly to peptide-enabled biosensing are explored. First, the impact of the underlying substrate is investigated via nanoscale surface probing techniques, which reveal a way to tune long-range ordering of peptides with heterolayered materials. Second, binding characterization studies demonstrate the feasibility of dual-functional chimeric peptides in detecting DNA biomarkers. Third, peptides that recognize volatile organic compounds and derived from insect odorant-binding proteins are used to functionalized biosensor field-effect transistor (bio-FET) devices towards potential COVID-19 detection and diagnosis. The work herein provides inspiration for incorporating peptides into bioelectronics and biosensing applications by demonstrating how their design and function informs their performance and, ultimately, their implementation