Systems and methods for detecting a substance in bodily fluid

Abstract

Various devices, systems and methods for determining a parameter of and/or detecting chemical and biological substances in bodily fluid are described herein. A device or system may include a substrate. An active sensor having an electrical characteristic and/or a control sensor may be disposed on the substrate. In certain variations, a differential between a first signal from the active sensor, and a second signal from the control sensor may be used to determine a parameter of the chemical or biological substance in the sample of bodily fluid.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device for determining a parameter of a substance in a sample, the device comprising:
 a substrate having an active sensor disposed above the substrate, wherein the active sensor responds to an electrostatic or capacitance change;
 wherein the active sensor comprises an extended gate and an electrical component having an electrical characteristic; and 
   a functionalized structure comprising a plurality of binding receptors, wherein the binding receptors are secured directly to the extended gate of the active sensor, wherein the plurality of binding receptors are configured to bind with the substance to undergo a reaction resulting in the release of ions such that the release of the ions results in a change in the electrical characteristic of the electrical component independent of current flow in solution; and
 wherein the electrical component is configured to generate a signal upon the application of an electrical stimulus, the signal being indicative of the change in the electrical characteristic of the electrical component, and 
 wherein the parameter of the substance is determined by the signal indicative of the change in the electrical characteristic of the electrical component. 
   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the binding receptors each have an engineered protein directly coupled to each of the binding receptors and the engineered protein secures each of the binding receptors directly to the extended gate of the active sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the engineered protein comprises at least one cysteine group. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the distance between each of the binding receptors and the extended gate is 5 nm or less when the binding receptors are secured directly to the extended gate. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the extended gate comprises a metal layer. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the metal layer is a gold layer. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the functionalized structure includes a permeable membrane, hydrogel, PVC, or other filter, for allowing only the passage of a target moiety. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical component comprises at least one of a transistor, a capacitor, a resistor, and an inverter. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical stimulus comprises altering an electrical parameter selected from the group consisting of frequency, current, voltage, resistance, impedance, capacitance, conductivity, induction, threshold voltage, transconductance, subthreshold swing, piezo-resistivity, magnetic field, and electrical noise. 
     
     
         10 . A device for determining a parameter of a substance in a sample, the device comprising:
 a substrate having an active sensor and a control sensor, wherein the active sensor is disposed above the substrate and responds to an electrostatic or capacitance change;
 wherein the active sensor comprises a first extended gate and a first electrical component having a first electrical characteristic and the control sensor comprises a second extend gate and a second electrical component having a second electrical characteristic; and 
   a functionalized structure comprising a plurality of binding receptors such that the binding receptors are secured directly to the extended gate of the active sensor, wherein the plurality of binding receptors are configured to bind with the substance to undergo a reaction resulting in the release of ions such that the release of the ions results in a change in the first electrical characteristic of the first electrical component independent of current flow in solution,
 wherein the first electrical component is configured to generate a first signal upon the application of an electrical stimulus and the second electrical component is configured to generate a second signal upon the application of the electrical stimulus, and 
 wherein the parameter of the substance is determined by a difference between the first signal and the second signal. 
   
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the binding receptors each have an engineered protein directly coupled to each of the binding receptors and the engineered protein secures each of the binding receptors directly to the extended gate of the active sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the engineered protein comprises at least one cysteine group. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the distance between each of the binding receptors and the extended gate is 5 nm or less when the binding receptors are secured directly to the extended gate. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the extended gate comprises a metal layer. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein the metal layer is a gold layer. 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the functionalized structure includes a permeable membrane, hydrogel, PVC, or other filter, for allowing only the passage of a target moiety. 
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the first electrical component and the second electrical component each comprise at least one of a transistor, a capacitor, a resistor, and an inverter. 
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the electrical stimulus comprises altering an electrical parameter selected from the group consisting of frequency, current, voltage, resistance, impedance, capacitance, conductivity, induction, threshold voltage, transconductance, subthreshold swing, piezo-resistivity, magnetic field, and electrical noise. 
     
     
         19 . A method for determining a parameter of a substance in a sample, the method comprising:
 providing a substrate comprising an active sensor and a control sensor,
 wherein the active sensor comprises a first extended gate and a first electrical component having a first electrical characteristic and a functionalized structure coupled to the first extended gate, and 
 wherein the control sensor comprises a second extended gate and a second electrical component having a second electrical characteristic; 
   introducing the sample to the substrate, wherein introducing the sample results in binding of the substance to the functionalized structure and results in the release of ions such that the release of ions results in a change in the first electrical characteristic of the first electrical component;   comparing the first electrical characteristic of the first electrical component with the second electrical characteristic of the second electrical component;   using the comparison to determine at least one parameter of the substance in the sample; and   producing an output of the at least one parameter.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein comparing the first electrical characteristic of the first electrical component with the second electrical characteristic of the second electrical component includes comparing at least one of a frequency, current, voltage, resistance, impedance, capacitance, conductivity, induction, threshold voltage, transconductance, subthreshold swing, piezo-resistivity, magnetic field, and electrical noise of the first electrical component with that of the second electrical component.