TY - JOUR A1 - Koch, Claudia A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Wege, Christian T1 - Penicillin Detection by Tobacco Mosaic Virus-Assisted Colorimetric Biosensors JF - Nanotheranostics N2 - The presentation of enzymes on viral scaffolds has beneficial effects such as an increased enzyme loading and a prolonged reusability in comparison to conventional immobilization platforms. Here, we used modified tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) nanorods as enzyme carriers in penicillin G detection for the first time. Penicillinase enzymes were conjugated with streptavidin and coupled to TMV rods by use of a bifunctional biotin-linker. Penicillinase-decorated TMV particles were characterized extensively in halochromic dye-based biosensing. Acidometric analyte detection was performed with bromcresol purple as pH indicator and spectrophotometry. The TMV-assisted sensors exhibited increased enzyme loading and strongly improved reusability, and higher analysis rates compared to layouts without viral adapters. They extended the half-life of the sensors from 4 - 6 days to 5 weeks and thus allowed an at least 8-fold longer use of the sensors. Using a commercial budget-priced penicillinase preparation, a detection limit of 100 µM penicillin was obtained. Initial experiments also indicate that the system may be transferred to label-free detection layouts. Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.7150/ntno.22114 SN - 2206-7418 VL - 2 IS - 2 SP - 184 EP - 196 PB - Ivyspring CY - Sydney ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Jablonski, Melanie A1 - Koch, Claudia A1 - Bronder, Thomas A1 - Rolka, David A1 - Wege, Christina A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Field-effect biosensor using virus particles as scaffolds for enzyme immobilization JF - Biosensors and Bioelectronics N2 - A field-effect biosensor employing tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles as scaffolds for enzyme immobilization is presented. Nanotubular TMV scaffolds allow a dense immobilization of precisely positioned enzymes with retained activity. To demonstrate feasibility of this new strategy, a penicillin sensor has been developed by coupling a penicillinase with virus particles as a model system. The developed field-effect penicillin biosensor consists of an Al-p-Si-SiO₂-Ta₂O₅-TMV structure and has been electrochemically characterized in buffer solutions containing different concentrations of penicillin G. In addition, the morphology of the biosensor surface with virus particles was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy methods. The sensors possessed a high penicillin sensitivity of ~ 92 mV/dec in a nearly-linear range from 0.1 mM to 10 mM, and a low detection limit of about 50 µM. The long-term stability of the penicillin biosensor was periodically tested over a time period of about one year without any significant loss of sensitivity. The biosensor has also been successfully applied for penicillin detection in bovine milk samples. Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2018.03.036 SN - 0956-5663 VL - 110 SP - 168 EP - 174 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Poghossian, Arshak T1 - Label-free biosensing: advanced materials, devices and applications Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-75219-8 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Yoshinobu, Tatsuo A1 - Krause, Steffi A1 - Miyamoto, Ko-ichiro A1 - Werner, Frederik A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Wagner, Torsten A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - (Bio-)chemical Sensing and Imaging by LAPS and SPIM T2 - Label-free biosensing: advanced materials, devices and applications N2 - The light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) and scanning photo-induced impedance microscopy (SPIM) are two closely related methods to visualise the distributions of chemical species and impedance, respectively, at the interface between the sensing surface and the sample solution. They both have the same field-effect structure based on a semiconductor, which allows spatially resolved and label-free measurement of chemical species and impedance in the form of a photocurrent signal generated by a scanning light beam. In this article, the principles and various operation modes of LAPS and SPIM, functionalisation of the sensing surface for measuring various species, LAPS-based chemical imaging and high-resolution sensors based on silicon-on-sapphire substrates are described and discussed, focusing on their technical details and prospective applications. KW - Chemical imaging KW - Field-effect device KW - Light-addressable potentiometric sensor KW - Potentiometry Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-75219-8 SP - 103 EP - 132 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Poghossian, Arshak T1 - Enzyme und Biosensorik T2 - Einführung in die Enzymtechnologie N2 - Enzymbasierte Biosensoren finden seit mehr als fünf Jahrzehnten einen prosperierenden Wachstumsmarkt und werden zunehmend auch in biotechnologischen Prozessen eingesetzt. In diesem Kapitel werden, ausgehend vom Sensorbegriff und typischen Kenngrößen für Biosensoren (Abschn. 18.1), elektrochemische Enzym-Biosensoren vorgestellt und deren typischen Einsatzgebiete diskutiert (Abschn. 18.2). Ein Blick über den „Tellerrand“ hinaus zeigt alternative Transduktorprinzipien (Abschn. 18.3) und führt abschließend in aktuelle Forschungstrends ein (Abschn. 18.4). Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-662-57619-9 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-57619-9_18 SP - 323 EP - 347 PB - Springer Spektrum CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bronder, Thomas A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Jessing, Max P. A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Surface regeneration and reusability of label-free DNA biosensors based on weak polyelectrolyte-modified capacitive field-effect structures JF - Biosensors and Bioelectronics Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2018.11.019 SN - 0956-5663 VL - 126 SP - 510 EP - 517 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Geissler, Hanno A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Rapid methods and sensors for milk quality monitoring and spoilage detection JF - Biosensors and Bioelectronics Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2019.04.040 SN - 0956-5663 VL - 140 IS - Article 111272 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Wagner, Torsten A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Miyamoto, K.I. A1 - Werner, C.F. A1 - Krause, S. A1 - Yoshinobu, T. T1 - Light-addressable potentiometric sensors for (bio-)chemical sensing and imaging T2 - Encyclopedia of Interfacial Chemistry: Surface Science and Electrochemistry. Vol. 7 Y1 - 2018 SN - 9780128097397 SP - 295 EP - 308 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Welden, Melanie A1 - Severins, Robin A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Wege, Christina A1 - Bongaerts, Johannes A1 - Siegert, Petra A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Detection of acetoin and diacetyl by a tobacco mosaic virus-assisted field-effect biosensor JF - Chemosensors N2 - Acetoin and diacetyl have a major impact on the flavor of alcoholic beverages such as wine or beer. Therefore, their measurement is important during the fermentation process. Until now, gas chromatographic techniques have typically been applied; however, these require expensive laboratory equipment and trained staff, and do not allow for online monitoring. In this work, a capacitive electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor sensor modified with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles as enzyme nanocarriers for the detection of acetoin and diacetyl is presented. The enzyme acetoin reductase from Alkalihalobacillus clausii DSM 8716ᵀ is immobilized via biotin–streptavidin affinity, binding to the surface of the TMV particles. The TMV-assisted biosensor is electrochemically characterized by means of leakage–current, capacitance–voltage, and constant capacitance measurements. In this paper, the novel biosensor is studied regarding its sensitivity and long-term stability in buffer solution. Moreover, the TMV-assisted capacitive field-effect sensor is applied for the detection of diacetyl for the first time. The measurement of acetoin and diacetyl with the same sensor setup is demonstrated. Finally, the successive detection of acetoin and diacetyl in buffer and in diluted beer is studied by tuning the sensitivity of the biosensor using the pH value of the measurement solution. Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/chemosensors10060218 SN - 2227-9040 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Nanostructured Devices for Biochemical Sensing" VL - 10 IS - 6 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Welden, Melanie A1 - Severins, Robin A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Wege, Christina A1 - Siegert, Petra A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Studying the immobilization of acetoin reductase with Tobacco mosaic virus particles on capacitive field-effect sensors T2 - 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Olfaction and Electronic Nose (ISOEN) N2 - A capacitive electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EISCAP) biosensor modified with Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles for the detection of acetoin is presented. The enzyme acetoin reductase (AR) was immobilized on the surface of the EISCAP using TMV particles as nanoscaffolds. The study focused on the optimization of the TMV-assisted AR immobilization on the Ta 2 O 5 -gate EISCAP surface. The TMV-assisted acetoin EISCAPs were electrochemically characterized by means of leakage-current, capacitance-voltage, and constant-capacitance measurements. The TMV-modified transducer surface was studied via scanning electron microscopy. KW - Tobacco mosaic virus KW - acetoin KW - capacitive field-effect biosensor KW - enzyme immobilization Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-1-6654-5860-3 (Online) SN - 978-1-6654-5861-0 (Print) U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ISOEN54820.2022.9789657 N1 - IEEE International Symposium on Olfaction and Electronic Nose (ISOEN), 29 May 2022 - 01 June 2022, Aveiro, Portugal. PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Welden, Melanie A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Vahidpour, Farnoosh A1 - Wendlandt, Tim A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Wege, Christina A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Towards multi-analyte detection with field-effect capacitors modified with tobacco mosaic virus bioparticles as enzyme nanocarriers JF - Biosensors N2 - Utilizing an appropriate enzyme immobilization strategy is crucial for designing enzyme-based biosensors. Plant virus-like particles represent ideal nanoscaffolds for an extremely dense and precise immobilization of enzymes, due to their regular shape, high surface-to-volume ratio and high density of surface binding sites. In the present work, tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles were applied for the co-immobilization of penicillinase and urease onto the gate surface of a field-effect electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor capacitor (EISCAP) with a p-Si-SiO₂-Ta₂O₅ layer structure for the sequential detection of penicillin and urea. The TMV-assisted bi-enzyme EISCAP biosensor exhibited a high urea and penicillin sensitivity of 54 and 85 mV/dec, respectively, in the concentration range of 0.1–3 mM. For comparison, the characteristics of single-enzyme EISCAP biosensors modified with TMV particles immobilized with either penicillinase or urease were also investigated. The surface morphology of the TMV-modified Ta₂O₅-gate was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, the bi-enzyme EISCAP was applied to mimic an XOR (Exclusive OR) enzyme logic gate. KW - urease KW - enzyme-logic gate KW - bi-enzyme biosensor KW - capacitive field-effect sensor KW - tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) KW - penicillinase Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/bios12010043 SN - 2079-6374 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Biosensors: 10th Anniversary Feature Papers" VL - 12 IS - 1 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Bronder, Thomas A1 - Wu, Chunsheng A1 - Scheja, Sabrina A1 - Jessing, Max A1 - Metzger-Boddien, Christoph A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Poghossian, Arshak T1 - Label-Free DNA Detection with Capacitive Field-Effect Devices—Challenges and Opportunities JF - Proceedings N2 - Field-effect EIS (electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor) sensors modified with a positively charged weak polyelectrolyte layer have been applied for the electrical detection of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) immobilization and hybridization by the intrinsic molecular charge. The EIS sensors are able to detect the existence of target DNA amplicons in PCR (polymerase chain reaction) samples and thus, can be used as tool for a quick verification of DNA amplification and the successful PCR process. Due to their miniaturized setup, compatibility with advanced micro- and nanotechnologies, and ability to detect biomolecules by their intrinsic molecular charge, those sensors can serve as possible platform for the development of label-free DNA chips. Possible application fields as well as challenges and limitations will be discussed. Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/proceedings1080719 SN - 2504-3900 N1 - This article belongs to the Proceedings of "Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Sensor Science (I3S 2017)" VL - 1 IS - 8 SP - Artikel 719 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Label-free sensing of biomolecules with field-effect devices for clinical applications JF - Electroanalysis N2 - Among the variety of transducer concepts proposed for label-free detection of biomolecules, the semiconductor field-effect device (FED) is one of the most attractive platforms. As medical techniques continue to progress towards diagnostic and therapies based on biomarkers, the ability of FEDs for a label-free, fast and real-time detection of multiple pathogenic and physiologically relevant molecules with high specificity and sensitivity offers very promising prospects for their application in point-of-care and personalized medicine for an early diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The presented paper reviews recent advances and current trends in research and development of different FEDs for label-free, direct electrical detection of charged biomolecules by their intrinsic molecular charge. The authors are mainly focusing on the detection of the DNA hybridization event, antibody-antigen affinity reaction as well as clinically relevant biomolecules such as cardiac and cancer biomarkers. Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/elan.201400073 SN - 1521-4109 (E-Journal); 1040-0397 (Print) VL - 26 IS - 6 SP - 1197 EP - 1213 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Jablonski, Melanie A1 - Molinnus, Denise A1 - Wege, Christina A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Field-Effect Sensors for Virus Detection: From Ebola to SARS-CoV-2 and Plant Viral Enhancers JF - Frontiers in Plant Science N2 - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel human infectious disease provoked by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Currently, no specific vaccines or drugs against COVID-19 are available. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are essential in order to slow the virus spread and to contain the disease outbreak. Hence, new diagnostic tests and devices for virus detection in clinical samples that are faster, more accurate and reliable, easier and cost-efficient than existing ones are needed. Due to the small sizes, fast response time, label-free operation without the need for expensive and time-consuming labeling steps, the possibility of real-time and multiplexed measurements, robustness and portability (point-of-care and on-site testing), biosensors based on semiconductor field-effect devices (FEDs) are one of the most attractive platforms for an electrical detection of charged biomolecules and bioparticles by their intrinsic charge. In this review, recent advances and key developments in the field of label-free detection of viruses (including plant viruses) with various types of FEDs are presented. In recent years, however, certain plant viruses have also attracted additional interest for biosensor layouts: Their repetitive protein subunits arranged at nanometric spacing can be employed for coupling functional molecules. If used as adapters on sensor chip surfaces, they allow an efficient immobilization of analyte-specific recognition and detector elements such as antibodies and enzymes at highest surface densities. The display on plant viral bionanoparticles may also lead to long-time stabilization of sensor molecules upon repeated uses and has the potential to increase sensor performance substantially, compared to conventional layouts. This has been demonstrated in different proof-of-concept biosensor devices. Therefore, richly available plant viral particles, non-pathogenic for animals or humans, might gain novel importance if applied in receptor layers of FEDs. These perspectives are explained and discussed with regard to future detection strategies for COVID-19 and related viral diseases. Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.598103 VL - 11 IS - Article 598103 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Capacitive field-effect eis chemical sensors and biosensors: A status report JF - Sensors N2 - Electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) field-effect sensors belong to a new generation of electronic chips for biochemical sensing, enabling a direct electronic readout. The review gives an overview on recent advances and current trends in the research and development of chemical sensors and biosensors based on the capacitive field-effect EIS structure—the simplest field-effect device, which represents a biochemically sensitive capacitor. Fundamental concepts, physicochemical phenomena underlying the transduction mechanism and application of capacitive EIS sensors for the detection of pH, ion concentrations, and enzymatic reactions, as well as the label-free detection of charged molecules (nucleic acids, proteins, and polyelectrolytes) and nanoparticles, are presented and discussed. Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s20195639 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 20 IS - 19 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Recent progress in silicon-based biologically sensitive field-effect devices JF - Current Opinion in Electrochemistry N2 - Biologically sensitive field-effect devices (BioFEDs) advantageously combine the electronic field-effect functionality with the (bio)chemical receptor’s recognition ability for (bio)chemical sensing. In this review, basic and widely applied device concepts of silicon-based BioFEDs (ion-sensitive field-effect transistor, silicon nanowire transistor, electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor capacitor, light-addressable potentiometric sensor) are presented and recent progress (from 2019 to early 2021) is discussed. One of the main advantages of BioFEDs is the label-free sensing principle enabling to detect a large variety of biomolecules and bioparticles by their intrinsic charge. The review encompasses applications of BioFEDs for the label-free electrical detection of clinically relevant protein biomarkers, deoxyribonucleic acid molecules and viruses, enzyme-substrate reactions as well as recording of the cell acidification rate (as an indicator of cellular metabolism) and the extracellular potential. Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coelec.2021.100811 SN - 2451-9103 IS - Article number: 100811 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Weil, M. A1 - Cherstvy, A. G. A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Electrical monitoring of polyelectrolyte multilayer formation by means of capacitive field-effect devices JF - Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry N2 - The semiconductor field-effect platform represents a powerful tool for detecting the adsorption and binding of charged macromolecules with direct electrical readout. In this work, a capacitive electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor (EIS) field-effect sensor consisting of an Al-p-Si-SiO2 structure has been applied for real-time in situ electrical monitoring of the layer-by-layer formation of polyelectrolyte (PE) multilayers (PEM). The PEMs were deposited directly onto the SiO2 surface without any precursor layer or drying procedures. Anionic poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) and cationic weak polyelectrolyte poly(allylamine hydrochloride) have been chosen as a model system. The effect of the ionic strength of the solution, polyelectrolyte concentration, number and polarity of the PE layers on the characteristics of the PEM-modified EIS sensors have been studied by means of capacitance–voltage and constant-capacitance methods. In addition, the thickness, surface morphology, roughness and wettabilityof the PE mono- and multilayers have been characterised by ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy and water contact-angle methods, respectively. To explain potential oscillations on the gate surface and signal behaviour of the capacitive field-effect EIS sensor modified with a PEM, a simplified electrostatic model that takes into account the reduced electrostatic screening of PE charges by mobile ions within the PEM has been proposed and discussed. Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00216-013-6951-9 SN - 1432-1130 ; 1618-2642 VL - 405 IS - 20 SP - 6425 EP - 6436 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Huck, Christina A1 - Schiffels, Johannes A1 - Herrera, Cony N. A1 - Schelden, Maximilian A1 - Selmer, Thorsten A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Baumann, Marcus A1 - Wagner, Patrick A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Metabolic responses of Escherichia coli upon glucose pulses captured by a capacitive field-effect sensor JF - Physica Status Solidi (A) N2 - Living cells are complex biological systems transforming metabolites taken up from the surrounding medium. Monitoring the responses of such cells to certain substrate concentrations is a challenging task and offers possibilities to gain insight into the vitality of a community influenced by the growth environment. Cell-based sensors represent a promising platform for monitoring the metabolic activity and thus, the “welfare” of relevant organisms. In the present study, metabolic responses of the model bacterium Escherichia coli in suspension, layered onto a capacitive field-effect structure, were examined to pulses of glucose in the concentration range between 0.05 and 2 mM. It was found that acidification of the surrounding medium takes place immediately after glucose addition and follows Michaelis–Menten kinetic behavior as a function of the glucose concentration. In future, the presented setup can, therefore, be used to study substrate specificities on the enzymatic level and may as well be used to perform investigations of more complex metabolic responses. Conclusions and perspectives highlighting this system are discussed. Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201200900 SN - 0031-8965 VL - 210 IS - 5 SP - 926 EP - 931 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bäcker, Matthias A1 - Rakowski, D. A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Biselli, Manfred A1 - Wagner, Patrick A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Chip-based amperometric enzyme sensor system for monitoring of bioprocesses by flow-injection analysis JF - Journal of Biotechnology N2 - A microfluidic chip integrating amperometric enzyme sensors for the detection of glucose, glutamate and glutamine in cell-culture fermentation processes has been developed. The enzymes glucose oxidase, glutamate oxidase and glutaminase were immobilized by means of cross-linking with glutaraldehyde on platinum thin-film electrodes integrated within a microfluidic channel. The biosensor chip was coupled to a flow-injection analysis system for electrochemical characterization of the sensors. The sensors have been characterized in terms of sensitivity, linear working range and detection limit. The sensitivity evaluated from the respective peak areas was 1.47, 3.68 and 0.28 μAs/mM for the glucose, glutamate and glutamine sensor, respectively. The calibration curves were linear up to a concentration of 20 mM glucose and glutamine and up to 10 mM for glutamate. The lower detection limit amounted to be 0.05 mM for the glucose and glutamate sensor, respectively, and 0.1 mM for the glutamine sensor. Experiments in cell-culture medium have demonstrated a good correlation between the glutamate, glutamine and glucose concentrations measured with the chip-based biosensors in a differential-mode and the commercially available instrumentation. The obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of the realized microfluidic biosensor chip for monitoring of bioprocesses. Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2012.03.014 SN - 0168-1656 VL - 163 IS - 4 SP - 371 EP - 376 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schusser, Sebastian A1 - Leinhos, Marcel A1 - Bäcker, Matthias A1 - Poghossian, Arshak A1 - Wagner, Patrick A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Impedance spectroscopy: A tool for real-time in situ monitoring of the degradation of biopolymers JF - Physica Status Solidi (A) N2 - Investigation of the degradation kinetics of biodegradable polymers is essential for the development of implantable biomedical devices with predicted biodegradability. In this work, an impedimetric sensor has been applied for real-time and in situ monitoring of degradation processes of biopolymers. The sensor consists of two platinum thin-film electrodes covered by a polymer film to be studied. The benchmark biomedical polymer poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PDLLA) was used as a model system. PDLLA films were deposited on the sensor structure from a polymer solution by using the spin-coating method. The degradation kinetics of PDLLA films have been studied in alkaline solutions of pH 9 and 12 by means of an impedance spectroscopy (IS) method. Any changes in a polymer capacitance/resistance induced by water uptake and/or polymer degradation will modulate the global impedance of the polymer-covered sensor that can be used as an indicator of the polymer degradation. The degradation rate can be evaluated from the time-dependent impedance spectra. As expected, a faster degradation has been observed for PDLLA films exposed to pH 12 solution. Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201200941 SN - 1521-396X ; 0031-8965 VL - 210 IS - 5 SP - 905 EP - 910 PB - Wiley CY - Weinheim ER -