Label-free electrical monitoring of nucleic acid amplification with integrated hydrogel ionic diodes

We demonstrate here for the first time the utility of a monolithically integrated hydrogel ionic diode for label-free quantitative DNA detection and real-time monitoring of nucleic acid amplification. The hydrogel ionic diode presented herein, unlike nanomaterial-based field-effect biosensors, features high cost-effectiveness and convenient fabrication. This is realized by patterning a micrometer-sized heterojunction consisting of adjacent segments of polycationic and polyanionic hydrogels on a microfluidic chip through simple photocuring steps. The integrated diode rectifies ionic currents being sensitive to the charge of DNA adsorbed onto the polycationic chains through electrostatic associations. Based on the mechanism, we show that the ionic biosensor can electrically quantify DNA in a dynamic range relevant to typical nucleic acid amplification assays. Utilizing the device, we demonstrate the evaluation of a PCR assay amplifying a 500-bp DNA fragment of E. coli, an infection-causing pathogen, and real-time in situ monitoring of an isothermal assay amplifying E. coli whole genome. We anticipate that the device could potentially pave the way for miniaturized optics-free platforms for quantifying nucleic acid amplification at point-of-care.