Silicon Nanoribbon pH Sensors Protected by a Barrier Membrane with Carbon Nanotube Porins.

Limited biocompatibility and fouling propensity can restrict real-world applications of a large variety of biosensors. Biological systems are adept at protecting and separating vital components of biological machinery with semipermeable membranes that often contain defined pores and gates to restrict transmembrane transport only to specific species. Here we use a similar approach for creating fouling-resistant pH sensors. We integrate silicon nanoribbon transistor sensors with an antifouling lipid bilayer coating that contains proton-permeable carbon nanotube porin (CNTP) channels and demonstrate robust pH detection in a variety of complex biological fluids.