Electrical Characterization of a Thiol SAM on Gold as a First Step for the Fabrication of Immunosensors based on a Quartz Crystal Microbalance

In order to develop a robust biosensor based on quartz crystal microbalance technique for antigen detection, a control of the steps of the surface functionalization has been performed by impedance spectroscopy. The gold electrode is functionalized with the self-assembled monolayer technique. The high insulating properties of the acidic thiol monolayer has been characterized with cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The modified surface is activated with N-hydroxysuccinimide(NHS) and 1-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)-3-ethylcarbodimide hydrochloride(EDC) cross-linker for antibody coupling. The non-specific sites are blocked with bovin serum albumine molecules. Different concentrations of antigen can be detected with a good reversibility in real time with the quartz crystal microbalance.