New oligoethylene glycol linkers for the surface modification of an ultra-high frequency acoustic wave biosensor

This work describes the application of acoustic wave technology for the real-time and label-free detection of biotin–avidin interactions. Biosensing surfaces are constructed onto unelectroded piezoelectric quartz discs as functionalizable mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAM) produced from previously unreported linker and diluent molecules. Biotinthiol can subsequently be immobilized for detection purposes in a straightforward and coupling-free manner. Specific and non-specific adsorptions of avidin are measured at ultra-high frequencies (1.06 and 0.82 GHz) with an electromagnetic piezoelectric acoustic sensor (EMPAS) using micromolar avidin-spiked buffer solutions. These biosensing surfaces, especially the oligoethylene glycol SAM-based variety, display high specificity for avidin, with moderate to excellent reproducibility. This preliminary work constitutes the first application of SAM chemistry and EMPAS technology in the bioanalytical field.