UC Irvine

For the last few decades, the field of carbon Microelectromechanical systems (CMEMS) has taken inspiration from the patterning and microfabrication techniques from microelectronics industry to create unique and intricate three dimensional carbon materials with a variety of properties and applications. Carbon has excellent electrochemical stability, chemical inertness, biocompatibility, and is able to be fabricated from a number of easily machinable polymer precursors. These features have allowed researchers to fabricate high performance electrochemical sensors, scaffolds for tissue engineering, batteries with excellent lithium intercalation capacity, and other microelectronic platforms.

In this work, microfabrication techniques are used to create a fragmented and graphitic carbon material that is used as a biosensor to detect iodide and Dopamine in complex fluids. The excellent microstructural properties of the material were able to detect both iodide and Dopamine at clinically relevant concentration levels in the presence of interfering ions in complex body fluids, making it an ideal biosensor.