Graphene sensors: introduction and market status - Page 2

Researchers at Penn State have developed a graphene-based field-effect transistor (GFET) architecture that improves sensor stability and sensitivity in liquid environments, marking a step toward real-time molecular detection for health, environmental, and industrial applications.

The team engineered a dual‑gate GFET that integrates a high‑κ hafnium dioxide (HfO₂) local back gate with an electrolyte top gate, coupled through a real‑time feedback control loop. This novel configuration enables capacitive signal amplification while suppressing gate leakage and low‑frequency noise - two sources of instability that have long limited the performance of conventional single‑gate GFETs used in liquid sensing.

University of Delhi researchers have developed an environmentally friendly method to synthesize graphene oxide quantum dots (GO QDs) for use in ultrasensitive biosensors capable of detecting key neurological biomarkers such as dopamine and serotonin. The team’s novel approach employs citric acid as a green, biodegradable precursor, successfully producing uniform, negatively charged GO QDs with an average diameter of 23.4 nm.

The synthesized GO QDs were thoroughly characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The data confirmed the formation of pure, spherical QDs with well-defined structural integrity and optical stability, indicating precise control over quantum confinement and surface functionality.

Hawkeye Bio has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted U.S. Patent No. 12,461,102 titled “Pristine Graphene Based Biosensor for Biomarker Detection and Related Core Particles, Materials Compositions Methods and Systems.” The patent protects Hawkeye Bio’s proprietary graphene-based biosensor platform technology designed to detect biological molecules through highly sensitive optical signaling mechanisms.

The patented technology utilizes pristine graphene particles functionalized with optical reporter systems that respond to the presence of specific protease biomarkers. When exposed to target biological molecules, the biosensors convert biochemical interactions into measurable optical signals, enabling precise detection of molecular activity associated with disease.

Vocxi Health, a medical technology company developing graphene-enhanced breath-based diagnostics, has partnered with Forj Medical to transform its MyBreathPrint device from a desktop prototype into a compact, handheld diagnostic platform designed for real-world use.

MyBreathPrint uses graphene-based nano sensors and machine learning based algorithms to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by the body in a person’s breath that correspond with specific diseases, including lung cancer, the world’s leading cause of cancer death. The device’s ultra-sensitive sensors can detect compounds at parts-per-billion concentration, a thousand times more sensitive than conventional medical gas sensors. Combined with AI/ML based algorithm, the system delivers accurate, near-instant results in seconds, potentially enabling widespread screening in clinics, and ultimately, in homes.

A University of Cambridge research team has developed a triaxial force microsensor array using graphene-liquid metal composites, enabling robots to sense force magnitude, direction, slip, and surface roughness at scales rivaling human fingertips. This achievement addresses key limitations in tactile sensing for neuroprosthetics, human-machine interfaces, and dexterous robotics by decoupling normal and tangential forces through multiscale pyramid microstructures.

The device employs anisotropic porous conductive elastomers (APEs) with a hybrid filler of spiky nickel particles, few-layer graphene nanosheets, and eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) liquid metal microdroplets. These form a solid-liquid conductive network where LM droplets act as deformable hubs bridged by graphene sheets, cured under magnetic fields to align fillers directionally within an interconnected microporous structure. Pyramid-shaped units, as small as 200 μm across, mimic human epidermal microstructures to concentrate stress at tips, boosting sensitivity while spanning wide force ranges.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 61 start-ups and SMEs to receive funding following its latest evaluation round. The companies were chosen for their transformative technologies and strong commercial promise, securing a mix of grant and equity support.  

Among these companies is Grapheal - for its project PFAST) - fast, field-deployable graphene sensors for ultra-trace, real-time PFAS detection.

INBRAIN Neuroelectronics has announced a step forward in its long‑running collaboration with Merck, highlighting a new bidirectional, “rice‑sized” graphene BCI chip and a fresh push toward commercialization, including a speech‑decoding clinical trial.

The collaboration between INBRAIN and Merck was first established in 2021, with the goal of developing graphene‑based bioelectronic therapies for serious chronic diseases. This framework is now shifting from high‑level R&D into product‑oriented development, with Merck signaling commercialization intent around INBRAIN’s BCI‑Tx platform and its latest device iteration.

An international team of researchers - including members from the University of Cambridge, Beihang University, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Tsinghua University, and other institutions - has developed a wearable, comfortable and washable device called Revoice that could help people regain the ability to communicate naturally and fluently following a stroke, without the need for invasive brain implants.

Schematic of a textile-based strain-sensing choker. Two channels are aligned with the carotid artery and center of throat, respectively. Each channel consists of a two-terminal crack-based resistive strain sensor surrounded by a polyurethane acrylate (PUA) stress isolation layer. The top right SEM image shows the spontaneous ordered crack structure of the graphene coating. Image from: Nature Communications

Wearable silent speech systems hold significant potential for restoring communication in patients with speech impairments, but seamless, coherent speech has so far remained elusive and clinical effectiveness unproven. The Revoice system (also referred to as an intelligent throat, IT) integrates throat muscle vibration sensing and carotid pulse monitoring with large language model (LLM) processing to support fluent, emotionally expressive communication in real time. Ultrasensitive textile strain sensors embedded in a soft choker capture high-quality signals from the neck area and feed them into a token-level decoding pipeline, enabling continuous, delay-free speech reconstruction. In tests with five stroke patients with dysarthria, the system achieved low word and sentence error rates and a marked increase in user satisfaction, suggesting a promising non-invasive route to restore more natural communication.

Monash Health and Monash University have received a $100,000 research grant from the Love Your Sister Foundation, through the Monash Health Foundation, to develop a graphene oxide (GO)-based biosensor for early cancer detection using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). The GO-ctDNA project is a large interdisciplinary collaboration spanning oncology, engineering, nanofabrication and structural biology across Monash Health, Monash University and national research facilities.

“This project represents a perfect convergence of engineering innovation and clinical need,” said Dr. Gwo Yaw Ho, Head of the Cancer Immunology Laboratory within the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University. “If successful, our GO-ctDNA biosensor could revolutionize early cancer diagnostics by offering a simple, non-invasive blood test that detects cancer mutations with unprecedented sensitivity, potentially even before symptoms appear.”

Researchers from the University of Barcelona, Jaume I University, Slovak University of Technology and University of Valencia have realized graphene-enhanced hybrid photodetectors by integrating inkjet-printed mixed-phase CsPbBr₃/Cs₄PbBr₆ perovskite films directly onto graphene platforms. In this architecture, a high-mobility 2D graphene channel is intimately coupled to a photoconductive perovskite layer, enabling highly efficient photogating and broadband charge transport across the device.

The graphene channel serves as an ultrafast, low-noise pathway for photoinduced carriers, translating small changes in perovskite charge density into large modulations of graphene conductance. This strong photogating effect, together with the mixed-phase “raisin bread” perovskite morphology that confines and stores carriers, yields very high photoconductive gain. Furthermore, the use of chemical-vapor-deposition graphene and maskless inkjet printing allows direct perovskite deposition onto graphene without lithography on top of the 2D layer, preserving graphene quality and supporting integration on large-area and potentially flexible substrates.