Development of a graphene-based allergenicity detection system for air-sampled particles

This project aims on investigating (i) allergen extraction methods of pollen collected directly from the atmosphere during the pollen season (natural pollen exposure), (ii) the assembling of a functionalized structure based on graphene and antibodies for accurate binding of specific allergens, and (iii) the combination of (i) and (ii) in order to provide the basis for the development of a point-of-need device. The benefits of the herein suggested graphene- and antibody-based system for in-field application are: i) graphene-based sensors can be easily integrated in configuration of filed effect transistors and, thus, perfectly match the implementation of the concept of Internet of Sensors (IoS); 2) a high sensitivity with a low signal-to-noise ratio can be provided; 3) multiple binding sites can be immobilised on a single chip providing the possibility for simultaneous analysis of different allergens.
In this project, we will focus on the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1, which is widely spread in Northern and Central Europe, as model allergen for the development of an accurate biosensor using a functionalized graphene surface