Indium Tin Oxide-Polyaniline Biosensor: Fabrication and Characterization

In this study, a novel indium tin oxide (ITO)-polyaniline (Pani) biosensor wasdesigned, fabricated, and characterized. Initial testing was conducted for the detection ofbovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). The biosensor design was based upon the specific natureof antibodies to capture the target virus, and the conductive properties of self-doped Pani totranslate the antibody-antigen binding into a quantifying signal. The first part of the study wasto assess the feasibility of the self-doped Pani to be incorporated into the biosensor design byevaluating its several parameters, such as conductivity, physical structure, thermogravimetricproperties, and antibody-binding properties. The second part of the paper highlights thefabrication of the ITO-Pani biosensor to detect the presence of bovine viral diarrhea virus(BVDV) in pure culture. Although only BVDV culture was tested in this study, the biosensoris versatile for the detection of other pathogen of interest by changing the specificity of theantibodies.