Browsing by Author "Smith, Wesley"
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- ItemFabrication of an affordable organic electrochemical transistor for the detection of apolipoprotein A1(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Smith, Wesley; Perold, Willem; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for up to 31% of all deaths internationally. For optimal treatment, cardiac health biomarkers, such as cholesterol, need to be measured regularly. However, for the average South African, these biomarker tests are too expensive to be performed regularly. A low cost, easy to use, point-of-care device is needed to allow tests to be performed on a more regular basis. Advances in micro-manufacturing and its integration with biosensitive surfaces provide the perfect combination to produce an alternative to these tests. This paper investigates the suitability of apolipoprotein A1 as a biomarker for general cardiac health. An in-depth review of the constituents of a modern biosensor is performed, while also evaluating the impact of several constraints on optimal designs. Guided by this research, an organic transistor based sensor is proposed. This proposed sensor is then broken into its components followed by the design, evalu- ation, and testing of each of these components. Once all the designs have been evaluated, a final design is chosen, initial testing is performed, using five different apolipoprotein A1 concentrations. Two extreme concentrations and three concentrations nearer to one another are used to evaluate the linearity and sensitivity. Limited initial testing is performed and evaluated. The results show promise, but required further testing as a direct result of financial and time constraints. The obtained results show a good linearity when the protein concentration is changed. With the lowering cost of custom transistor manufacturing, the possibility is there for further research using tailored transistors.