Graphene oxide biosensors ‘offer drug development potential’

The process of developing therapies for conditions such as HIV and cancer could be accelerated by the creation of a new type of graphene oxide-based biosensor.

These chips take advantage of a technique called surface plasmon resonance (SPR), which monitors electromagnetic waves propagating along a metal-dielectric interface to detect biomolecule adsorption even at a few trillionth of a gram per sq mm.

Early tests with the graphene oxide-based chip showed that it offered three times higher sensitivity than a carboxymethylated dextran chip and 3.7 times higher than a device that used pristine graphene.

It means the new chip needs far fewer molecules for detecting a compound and can be used for analysis of chemical reactions with small drug molecules. These sensors are also simpler and cheaper to produce than current chips.

Yury Stebunov, a scientist at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, said: "Our invention will help in drug development against viral and cancer diseases. We are expecting that pharmaceutical industry will express a strong demand for our technology."