A Review and Analysis of Current-Mode Biosensing Front-End ICs for Nanopore-Based DNA Sequencing

Bio-sensors connect the biological world with electronic devices, widely used in biomedical applications. The combination of microelectronic and medical technologies makes biomedical diagnosis more rapid, accurate, and efficient. In this article, the current-mode biosensing front-end integrated circuits (ICs) for nanopore-based DNA sequencing are reviewed and analyzed, aiming to present their operation theories, advantages, limitations, and performances including gain, bandwidth, noise, and power consumption. Because biological information and external interference are contained in extremely weak sensing current, usually at the pA or nA level, it is challenging to accurately detect and restore the desired signals. Based on the requirements of DNA sequencing, this paper shows three circuit topologies of biosensing front-end, namely, discrete-time, continuous-time, and current-to-frequency conversion types. This paper also makes an introduction to the current-mode sensor array for DNA sequencing. To better review and evaluate the research of the state-of-the-art, the most relevant published works are summarized and compared. The review and analysis would help the researchers be familiar with the requirements, constraints, and methods for current-mode biosensing front-end IC designs for nanopore-based DNA sequencing.