Development of biocompatible surfaces for sensor applications

New multi scientific and -technological cooperation culture around Oulu region has been created with the help of BioOulu project. In this work new methods to manufacture printed biosensors for point-of-care use have been investigated and developed. The project has been mainly concentrated to the development of biocompatible materials for biosensors. Porous silane based sol-gel materials have been developed in this research project. Biomolecules inside the sol-gel are surrounded by a protecting and stabilizing micro environment which prevents the denaturation of the biomolecules. Several biocompatible matrices were developed via the sol-gel technique. Antibodies were mixed with the sol-gel or coated on top of the sol-gel layer. Biomolecules were detected with fluorescein (FITC) labelled antibodies. By optimizing the sol-gel material process conditions such as precursors and their molar ratio but also reaction time and temperature, the material composition was affected and thereby the behavior of the added biomolecules with the generated materials altered. By the choice of the carrier sol-gel matrix the antibody immobilization effectiveness could be influenced. Antibodies used in this work retained their activity after doping and processing. Doped sol-gel materials were gravure printed and the biomolecules were detected and found to preserve their biological functionality. In the future the goal is to create a biosensor carrier which is industrially exploitable and is suitable for the use in disposable point-of-care analysing devices manufactured by printing techniques. This work was funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the Provincial State Office of Oulu and the city of Oulu.