Indium Tin Oxide-Polyaniline Biosensor: Fabrication and Characterization

In this study, a novel indium tin oxide (ITO)-polyaniline (Pani) biosensor was designed, fabricated, and characterized. Initial testing was conducted for the detection of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). The biosensor design was based upon the specific nature of antibodies to capture the target virus, and the conductive properties of self-doped Pani to translate the antibody-antigen binding into a quantifying signal. The first part of the study was to assess the feasibility of the self-doped Pani to be incorporated into the biosensor design by evaluating its several parameters, such as conductivity, physical structure, thermogravimetric properties, and antibody-binding properties. The second part of the paper highlights the fabrication 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 biosensor is versatile for the detection of other pathogen of interest by changing the specificity of the antibodies.