Two-dimensional materials such as graphene are not only ultrathin, but also extremely sensitive. Researchers have therefore been trying for years to develop highly sensitive biosensors that utilise this property. Graphene-based field-effect transistors, for example, could register the tiniest changes in the electronic properties caused by the molecules when they interact with this atomically thin layer. However, the hypersensitivity of the material has so far stood in the way of the practical realisation of this idea. Scientists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany have now developed a solution to overcome this obstacle, potentially paving the way for a revolution in diagnostics. They have published their findings in the research journal "Advanced Materials".