MEMS based Low Cost Piezoresistive Microcantilever Force Sensor and Sensor Module.

Science.gov (United States)

Pandya, H J; Kim, Hyun Tae; Roy, Rajarshi; Desai, Jaydev P

2014-03-01

In the present work, we report fabrication and characterization of a low-cost MEMS based piezoresistive micro-force sensor with SU-8 tip using laboratory made silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. To prepare SOI wafer, silicon film (0.8 µm thick) was deposited on an oxidized silicon wafer using RF magnetron sputtering technique. The films were deposited in Argon (Ar) ambient without external substrate heating. The material characteristics of the sputtered deposited silicon film and silicon film annealed at different temperatures (400-1050°C) were studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The residual stress of the films was measured as a function of annealing temperature. The stress of the as-deposited films was observed to be compressive and annealing the film above 1050°C resulted in a tensile stress. The stress of the film decreased gradually with increase in annealing temperature. The fabricated cantilevers were 130 µm in length, 40 µm wide and 1.0 µm thick. A series of force-displacement curves were obtained using fabricated microcantilever with commercial AFM setup and the data were analyzed to get the spring constant and the sensitivity of the fabricated microcantilever. The measured spring constant and sensitivity of the sensor was 0.1488N/m and 2.7mV/N. The microcantilever force sensor was integrated with an electronic module that detects the change in resistance of the sensor with respect to the applied force and displays it on the computer screen.

Dynamic characterization of human breast cancer cells using a piezoresistive microcantilever.

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Sangjo; Kim, Man Geun; Jo, Kyoungwoo; Kang, Yong Seok; Lee, Boreum; Yang, Sung; Shin, Sang-Mo; Lee, Jong-Hyun

2010-10-01

In this paper, frequency response (dynamic compression and recovery) is suggested as a new physical marker to differentiate between breast cancer cells (MCF7) and normal cells (MCF10A). A single cell is placed on the laminated piezoelectric actuator and a piezoresistive microcantilever is placed on the upper surface of the cell at a specified preload displacement (or an equivalent force). The piezoelectric actuator excites the single cell in a sinusoidal fashion and its dynamic deformation is then evaluated from the displacement converted by measuring the voltage output through a piezoresistor in the microcantilever. The microcantilever has a flat contact surface with no sharp tip, making it possible to measure the overall properties of the cell rather than the local properties. These results indicate that the MCF7 cells are more deformable in quasi-static conditions compared with MCF10A cells, consistent with known characteristics. Under conditions of high frequency of over 50 Hz at a 1 μm preload displacement, 1 Hz at a 2 μm preload displacement, and all frequency ranges tested at a 3 μm preload displacement, MCF7 cells showed smaller deformation than MCF10A cells. MCF7 cells have higher absorption than MCF10A cells such that MCF7 cells appear to have higher deformability according to increasing frequency. Moreover, larger preload and higher frequencies are shown to enhance the differences in cell deformability between the MCF7 cells and MCF10A cells, which can be used as a physical marker for differentiating between MCF10A cells and MCF7 cells, even for high-speed screening devices.

Microcantilever-Enabled Neutron Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin R. Kyle

2014-04-01

Full Text Available A new concept for neutron radiation detection was demonstrated using piezoresistive microcantilevers as the active sensing element. Microcantilevers were used to measure the tiny volumetric changes in a sensing material upon absorption of neutron radiation and transmutation into a new element. Highly ordered inorganic crystalline lattices of boron-rich materials dispersed in polymeric rubber matrices were shown to act as volumetric neutron transducers.

Microcantilever-based gas sensor employing two simultaneous physical sensing modes

Science.gov (United States)

Loui, Albert; Sirbuly, Donald J; Elhadj, Selim; McCall, Scott K; Hart, Bradley R; Ratto, Timothy V

2014-06-24

According to one embodiment, a system for detecting and identifying gases includes a piezoresistive microcantilever transducer, wherein dissipation of heat from the piezoresistive microcantilever into one or more gases is measured by changes in an electrical resistance of the piezoresistor, a vibrating microcantilever transducer, wherein shifts are measured in resonant frequency of the vibrating microcantilever due to viscous damping thereof by the one or more gases, and a subsystem for correlating the measured resistance changes and the resonant frequency shifts to the one or more gases. In another embodiment, a method for detecting and identifying one or more gases includes determining dissipation of heat from a microcantilever into one or more gases, and determining shifts in resonant frequency of the microcantilever due to viscous damping thereof by the one or more gases. Other systems, methods, and computer program products are also described according to more embodiments.

Embedded Piezoresistive Microcantilever Sensors Functionalized for the Detection of Methyl Salicylate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Porter, Timothy L. [Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States); Venedam, Richard J. [National Security Technologies, LLC. (NSTec), Mercury, NV (United States)

2013-03-01

Sensors designed to detect the presence of methyl salicylate (MeS) have been tested. These sensors use a sensor platform based on the embedded piezoresistive microcantilever (EPM) design. Sensing materials tested in this study included the polymer poly (ethylene vinyl acetate), or PEVA as well as a composite sensing material consisting of the enzyme SA-binding protein 2, or SABP-2. The SABP-2 was immobilized within a biocompatible Hypol gel matrix. The PEVA-based sensors exhibited slower but reversible responses to MeS vapors, recovering fully to their initial state after the analyte was removed. SABP-2 sensors exhibited faster overall response to the introduction of MeS, responding nearly instantly. These sensors, however, do not recover after exposures have ended. Sensors using the SABP-2 sensing materials act instead as integrating sensors, measuring irreversibly the total MeS dose obtained.

Embedded Piezoresistive Microcantilever Sensors Functionalized for the Detection of Methyl Salicylate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy L. Porter

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Sensors designed to detect the presence of methyl salicylate (MeS have been tested. These sensors use a sensor platform based on the embedded piezoresistive microcantilever (EPM design. Sensing materials tested in this study included the polymer poly (ethylene vinyl acetate, or PEVA as well as a composite sensing material consisting of the enzyme SA-binding protein 2, or SABP-2. The SABP-2 was immobilized within a biocompatible Hypol gel matrix. The PEVA-based sensors exhibited slower but reversible responses to MeS vapors, recovering fully to their initial state after the analyte was removed. SABP-2 sensors exhibited faster overall response to the introduction of MeS, responding nearly instantly. These sensors, however, do not recover after exposures have ended. Sensors using the SABP-2 sensing materials act instead as integrating sensors, measuring irreversibly the total MeS dose obtained.

Comprehensive distributed-parameters modeling and experimental validation of microcantilever-based biosensors with an application to ultrasmall biological species detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faegh, Samira; Jalili, Nader

2013-01-01

Nanotechnological advancements have made a great contribution in developing label-free and highly sensitive biosensors. The detection of ultrasmall adsorbed masses has been enabled by such sensors which transduce molecular interaction into detectable physical quantities. More specifically, microcantilever-based biosensors have caught widespread attention for offering a label-free, highly sensitive and inexpensive platform for biodetection. Although there are a lot of studies investigating microcantilever-based sensors and their biological applications, a comprehensive mathematical modeling and experimental validation of such devices providing a closed form mathematical framework is still lacking. In almost all of the studies, a simple lumped-parameters model has been proposed. However, in order to have a precise biomechanical sensor, a comprehensive model is required being capable of describing all phenomena and dynamics of the biosensor. Therefore, in this study, an extensive distributed-parameters modeling framework is proposed for the piezoelectric microcantilever-based biosensor using different methodologies for the purpose of detecting an ultrasmall adsorbed mass over the microcantilever surface. An optimum modeling methodology is concluded and verified with the experiment. This study includes three main parts. In the first part, the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory is used to model the nonuniform piezoelectric microcantilever. Simulation results are obtained and presented. The same system is then modeled as a nonuniform rectangular plate. The simulation results are presented describing model's capability in the detection of an ultrasmall mass. Finally the last part presents the experimental validation verifying the modeling results. It was shown that plate modeling predicts the real situation with a degree of precision of 99.57% whereas modeling the system as an Euler–Bernoulli beam provides a 94.45% degree of precision. The detection of ultrasmall

An Optical Fiber Read Out Method for a Reflective Microcantilever Biosensor

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Feng Wen

2013-03-01

Full Text Available An effective optical read out approach based on fiber reflective is presented to detect bends of a biomaterial microcantilever. The microcantilever was fabricated on single crystalline SOI wafer using a series of side definitions and backside wet/dry etchings. A Cr/Au layer with 30 nm Cr and 50 nm Au layer was deposited for the immobilized of bimolecular on the cantilever surface and for reflecting the light back into the fiber, the different light intensities means different bimolecular concentrations. The noncoherent light source is a super luminescent LED. Gradient index lens as a collimator and 50:50 optical coupler and signal modefiber was used to transmit light. Two PINFETs were used to convert the reflecting the light intensities and the light sources into electronic signals, two ADCs convert the signal into digital signals, a MPU was used to eliminate the fluctuation of the light source error. The method can has got high sensitivity is 6507.59 mV/um. Though the experiment, the cantilever biosensor can detect glucose, measurement results clearly demonstrate that the output voltage induced by the microcantilevers bending is proportional to the glucose concentrations and the sensitivity is up to 0.1V/mM, which is enough for glucose real-time trace detection.

Magnetoelectric versus thermal actuation characteristics of shear force AFM probes with piezoresistive detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sierakowski, Andrzej; Janus, Paweł; Dobrowolski, Rafał; Grabiec, Piotr; Kopiec, Daniel; Majstrzyk, Wojciech; Kunicki, Piotr; Gotszalk, Teodor; Rangelow, Ivo W

2017-01-01

In this paper the authors compare methods used for piezoresistive microcantilevers actuation for the atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging in the dynamic shear force mode. The piezoresistive detection is an attractive technique comparing the optical beam detection of deflection. The principal advantage is that no external alignment of optical source and detector are needed. When the microcantilever is deflected, the stress is transferred into a change of resistivity of piezoresistors. The integration of piezoresistive read-out provides a promising solution in realizing a compact non-contact AFM. Resolution of piezoresistive read-out is limited by three main noise sources: Johnson, 1/ f and thermomechanical noise. In the dynamic shear force mode measurement the method used for cantilever actuation will also affect the recorded noise in the piezoresistive detection circuit. This is the result of a crosstalk between an aluminium path (current loop used for actuation) and piezoresistors located near the base of the beam. In this paper authors described an elaborated in ITE (Institute of Electron Technology) technology of fabrication cantilevers with piezoresistive detection of deflection and compared efficiency of two methods used for cantilever actuation. (paper)

A Self-Sensing Piezoelectric MicroCantilever Biosensor for Detection of Ultrasmall Adsorbed Masses: Theory and Experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Srinivas Sridhar

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Detection of ultrasmall masses such as proteins and pathogens has been made possible as a result of advancements in nanotechnology. Development of label-free and highly sensitive biosensors has enabled the transduction of molecular recognition into detectable physical quantities. Microcantilever (MC-based systems have played a widespread role in developing such biosensors. One of the most important drawbacks of all of the available biosensors is that they all come at a very high cost. Moreover, there are certain limitations in the measurement equipments attached to the biosensors which are mostly optical measurement systems. A unique self-sensing detection technique is proposed in this paper in order to address most of the limitations of the current measurement systems. A self-sensing bridge is used to excite piezoelectric MC-based sensor functioning in dynamic mode, which simultaneously measures the system’s response through the self-induced voltage generated in the piezoelectric material. As a result, the need for bulky, expensive read-out equipment is eliminated. A comprehensive mathematical model is presented for the proposed self-sensing detection platform using distributed-parameters system modeling. An adaptation strategy is then implemented in the second part in order to compensate for the time-variation of piezoelectric properties which dynamically improves the behavior of the system. Finally, results are reported from an extensive experimental investigation carried out to prove the capability of the proposed platform. Experimental results verified the proposed mathematical modeling presented in the first part of the study with accuracy of 97.48%. Implementing the adaptation strategy increased the accuracy to 99.82%. These results proved the measurement capability of the proposed self-sensing strategy. It enables development of a cost-effective, sensitive and miniaturized mass sensing platform.

A sensitive, handheld vapor sensor based on microcantilevers

Science.gov (United States)

Pinnaduwage, L. A.; Hedden, D. L.; Gehl, A.; Boiadjiev, V. I.; Hawk, J. E.; Farahi, R. H.; Thundat, T.; Houser, E. J.; Stepnowski, S.; McGill, R. A.; Deel, L.; Lareau, R. T.

2004-11-01

We report the development of a handheld sensor based on piezoresistive microcantilevers that does not depend on optical detection, yet has high detection sensitivity. The sensor is able to detect vapors from the plastic explosives pentaerythritol tetranitrate and hexahydro-1,3,5-triazine at levels below 10 parts per trillion within few seconds of exposure under ambient conditions. A differential measurement technique has yielded a rugged sensor that is unaffected by vibration and is able to function as a "sniffer." The microelectromechanical system sensor design allows for the incorporation of hundreds of microcantilevers with suitable coatings in order to achieve sufficient selectivity in the future, and thus could provide an inexpensive, unique platform for the detection of chemical, biological, and explosive materials.

Self-heating in piezoresistive cantilevers.

Science.gov (United States)

Doll, Joseph C; Corbin, Elise A; King, William P; Pruitt, Beth L

2011-05-30

We report experiments and models of self-heating in piezoresistive microcantilevers that show how cantilever measurement resolution depends on the thermal properties of the surrounding fluid. The predicted cantilever temperature rise from a finite difference model is compared with detailed temperature measurements on fabricated devices. Increasing the fluid thermal conductivity allows for lower temperature operation for a given power dissipation, leading to lower force and displacement noise. The force noise in air is 76% greater than in water for the same increase in piezoresistor temperature.

Use of self-sensing piezoresistive Si cantilever sensor for determining carbon nanoparticle mass

Science.gov (United States)

Wasisto, H. S.; Merzsch, S.; Stranz, A.; Waag, A.; Uhde, E.; Kirsch, I.; Salthammer, T.; Peiner, E.

2011-06-01

A silicon cantilever with slender geometry based Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) for nanoparticles mass detection is presented in this work. The cantilever is actuated using a piezoactuator at the bottom end of the cantilever supporting frame. The oscillation of the microcantilever is detected by a self-sensing method utilizing an integrated full Wheatstone bridge as a piezoresistive strain gauge for signal read out. Fabricated piezoresistive cantilevers of 1.5 mm long, 30 μm wide and 25 μm thick have been employed. This self-sensing cantilever is used due to its simplicity, portability, high-sensitivity and low-cost batch microfabrication. In order to investigate air pollution sampling, a nanoparticles collection test of the piezoresistive cantilever sensor is performed in a sealed glass chamber with a stable carbon aerosol inside. The function principle of cantilever sensor is based on detecting the resonance frequency shift that is directly induced by an additional carbon nanoparticles mass deposited on it. The deposition of particles is enhanced by an electrostatic field. The frequency measurement is performed off-line under normal atmospheric conditions, before and after carbon nanoparticles sampling. The calculated equivalent mass-induced resonance frequency shift of the experiment is measured to be 11.78 +/- 0.01 ng and a mass sensitivity of 8.33 Hz/ng is obtained. The proposed sensor exhibits an effective mass of 2.63 μg, a resonance frequency of 43.92 kHz, and a quality factor of 1230.68 +/- 78.67. These results and analysis indicate that the proposed self-sensing piezoresistive silicon cantilever can offer the necessary potential for a mobile nanoparticles monitor.

Polymeric Flexible Immunosensor Based on Piezoresistive Micro-Cantilever with PEDOT/PSS Conductive Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Zhao

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a fully polymeric micro-cantilever with the surface passivation layer of parylene-C and the strain resistor of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene/poly (styrene sulfonate (PEDOT/PSS was proposed and demonstrated for immunoassays. By optimizing the design and fabrication of the polymeric micro-cantilever, a square resistance of 220 Ω/□ for PEDOT/PSS conductive layer have been obtained. The experimental spring constant and the deflection sensitivity were measured to be 0.017 N/m and 8.59 × 10−7 nm−1, respectively. The biological sensing performances of polymeric micro-cantilever were investigated by the immunoassay for human immunoglobulin G (IgG. The immunosensor was experimentally demonstrated to have a linear behavior for the detection of IgG within the concentrations of 10~100 ng/mL with a limit of detection (LOD of 10 ng/mL. The experimental results indicate that the proposed polymeric flexible conductive layer-based sensors are capable of detecting trace biological substances.

Polymeric Flexible Immunosensor Based on Piezoresistive Micro-Cantilever with PEDOT/PSS Conductive Layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Rui; Sun, Ying

2018-02-03

In this paper, a fully polymeric micro-cantilever with the surface passivation layer of parylene-C and the strain resistor of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) was proposed and demonstrated for immunoassays. By optimizing the design and fabrication of the polymeric micro-cantilever, a square resistance of 220 Ω/□ for PEDOT/PSS conductive layer have been obtained. The experimental spring constant and the deflection sensitivity were measured to be 0.017 N/m and 8.59 × 10 -7 nm -1 , respectively. The biological sensing performances of polymeric micro-cantilever were investigated by the immunoassay for human immunoglobulin G (IgG). The immunosensor was experimentally demonstrated to have a linear behavior for the detection of IgG within the concentrations of 10~100 ng/mL with a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 ng/mL. The experimental results indicate that the proposed polymeric flexible conductive layer-based sensors are capable of detecting trace biological substances.

Biosensors based on cantilevers.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Mar; Carrascosa, Laura G; Zinoviev, Kiril; Plaza, Jose A; Lechuga, Laura M

2009-01-01

Microcantilevers based-biosensors are a new label-free technique that allows the direct detection of biomolecular interactions in a label-less way and with great accuracy by translating the biointeraction into a nanomechanical motion. Low cost and reliable standard silicon technologies are widely used for the fabrication of cantilevers with well-controlled mechanical properties. Over the last years, the number of applications of these sensors has shown a fast growth in diverse fields, such as genomic or proteomic, because of the biosensor flexibility, the low sample consumption, and the non-pretreated samples required. In this chapter, we report a dedicated design and a fabrication process of highly sensitive microcantilever silicon sensors. We will describe as well an application of the device in the environmental field showing the immunodetection of an organic toxic pesticide as an example. The cantilever biofunctionalization process and the subsequent pesticide determination are detected in real time by monitoring the nanometer-scale bending of the microcantilever due to a differential surface stress generated between both surfaces of the device.

A microcantilever-based alcohol vapor sensor-application and response model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensenius, Henriette; Thaysen, Jacob; Rasmussen, Anette Alsted

2000-01-01

A recently developed microcantilever probe with integrated piezoresistive readout has been applied as a gas sensor. Resistors, sensitive to stress changes, are integrated on the flexible cantilevers. This makes it possible to monitor the cantilever deflection electrically and with an integrated...... is a direct measure of the molecular concentration of alcohol vapor. On the basis of the model the detection limit of this cantilever-based sensor is determined to be below 10 ppm for alcohol vapor measurements. Furthermore, the time response of the cantilever can be used to distinguish between different...

Optimised cantilever biosensor with piezoresistive read-out

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Peter; Thaysen, J.; Hansen, Ole

2003-01-01

We present a cantilever-based biochemical sensor with piezoresistive read-out which has been optimised for measuring surface stress. The resistors and the electrical wiring on the chip are encapsulated in low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) silicon nitride, so that the chip is well sui...

The dual cycle bridge detection of piezoresistive triaxial accelerometer based on MEMS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Juanting; He Changde; Zhang Hui; Li Yuping; Du Chunhui; Zhang Wendong; Zhang Yongping

2014-01-01

A cycle bridge detection method, which uses a piezoresistive triaxial accelerometer, has been described innovatively. This method just uses eight resistors to form a cycle detection bridge, which can detect the signal of the three directions for real time. It breaks the law of the ordinary independent Wheatstone bridge detection method, which uses at least 12 resistors and each four resistors connected as a Wheatstone bridge to detect the output signal from a specific direction. In order to verify the feasibility of this method, the modeling and simulating of the sensor structure have been conducted by ANSYS, then the dual cycle bridge detection method and independent Wheatstone bridge detection method are compared, the result shows that the former method can improve the sensitivity of the sensor effectively. The sensitivity of the x, y-axis used in the former method is two times that of the sensor used in the latter method, and the sensitivity of the z-axis is four times. At the same time, it can also reduce the cross-axis coupling degree of the sensor used in the dual cycle bridge detection method. In addition, a signal amplifier circuit and adder circuit have been provided. Finally, the test result of the “eight-beams/mass” triaxial accelerometer, which is based on the dual cycle bridge detection method and the related circuits, have been provided. The results of the test and the theoretical analysis are consistent, on the whole. (semiconductor devices)

Sensitivity analysis for improving nanomechanical photonic transducers biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fariña, D; Álvarez, M; Márquez, S; Lechuga, L M; Dominguez, C

2015-01-01

The achievement of high sensitivity and highly integrated transducers is one of the main challenges in the development of high-throughput biosensors. The aim of this study is to improve the final sensitivity of an opto-mechanical device to be used as a reliable biosensor. We report the analysis of the mechanical and optical properties of optical waveguide microcantilever transducers, and their dependency on device design and dimensions. The selected layout (geometry) based on two butt-coupled misaligned waveguides displays better sensitivities than an aligned one. With this configuration, we find that an optimal microcantilever thickness range between 150 nm and 400 nm would increase both microcantilever bending during the biorecognition process and increase optical sensitivity to 4.8   ×   10 −2  nm −1 , an order of magnitude higher than other similar opto-mechanical devices. Moreover, the analysis shows that a single mode behaviour of the propagating radiation is required to avoid modal interference that could misinterpret the readout signal. (paper)

The effect of microscopic attractive interactions on piezoelectric coefficients of nanoscale DNA films and its resultant mirocantilever-based biosensor signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jun-Zheng; Zhang, Neng-Hui; Zhou, Mei-Hong

2017-01-01

The adsorption of charged biomolecules on a substrate will trigger a self-induced electric potential field that could deflect microcantilever biosensors in the nanometer regime. The paper is devoted to a multiscale characterization of the piezoelectric coefficient of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) films with microscopic attractive interactions in multivalence salt solutions, which has a close relationship with biosensor signals. First, two different analytical models of cantilever deflections based on macroscopic piezoelectric theories or mesoscopic liquid crystal theories were combined in the sense of equivalent deformation in order to bridge the relation between the macroscopic piezoelectric coefficient of an adsorbate film and the sensitivity of its microstructure to surrounding conditions. Second, two interaction potentials of the free energy for repulsion-dominated DNA films in NaCl solution or attraction-repulsion-coexisted DNA films in multivalent salt solutions were used to compare the piezoelectric effect and the resultant cantilever deformation at various packing conditions, such as different packing density, various nucleotide numbers and two packing technologies, i.e. nano-grafting or self-assembling technology. The variational tendency of microcantilever deflections predicted by the present multiscale analytical model agrees well with the related DNA-mirocantilever experiments. Negative piezoelectric coefficient of dsDNA film exists in multivalent salt solutions, and its distinctive size effect with different packing densities and nucleotide numbers provides us with an opportunity to obtain a more sensitive microcantilever sensor by careful control of packing conditions. (paper)

Design and fabrication of piezoresistive p-SOI Wheatstone bridges for high-temperature applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kähler, Julian; Döring, Lutz; Merzsch, Stephan; Stranz, Andrej; Waag, Andreas; Peiner, Erwin

2011-06-01

For future measurements while depth drilling, commercial sensors are required for a temperature range from -40 up to 300 °C. Conventional piezoresistive silicon sensors cannot be used at higher temperatures due to an exponential increase of leakage currents which results in a drop of the bridge voltage. A well-known procedure to expand the temperature range of silicon sensors and to reduce leakage currents is to employ Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) instead of standard wafer material. Diffused resistors can be operated up to 200 °C, but show the same problems beyond due to leakage of the p-njunction. Our approach is to use p-SOI where resistors as well as interconnects are defined by etching down to the oxide layer. Leakage is suppressed and the temperature dependence of the bridges is very low (TCR = (2.6 +/- 0.1) μV/K@1 mA up to 400 °C). The design and process flow will be presented in detail. The characteristics of Wheatstone bridges made of silicon, n- SOI, and p-SOI will be shown for temperatures up to 300 °C. Besides, thermal FEM-simulations will be described revealing the effect of stress between silicon and the silicon-oxide layer during temperature cycling.

Design, Simulation and Analysis of Cantilever Sensor for in-Vitro LDL Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr. S. Hosimin Thilagar

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This work is focused on the design, simulation and analysis of microcantilever integrated with piezoresistors in Wheatstone bridge arrangement to detect low density lipoprotein (LDL in blood, which is responsible for cholesterol accumulation in arteries. This paper uses Finite Element Method (FEM to obtain the performance of piezoresistive microcantilever sensor to measure surface stress corresponding to the adsorption of LDL molecules. The FEM results are compared with the analytical solutions. The results suggest that the designed sensor can effectively sense LDL molecules as in-Vitro with few micro-litre of blood sample.

Design & fabrication of cantilever array biosensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boisen, Anja; Thundat, T

2009-01-01

Surface immobilization of functional receptors on microfabricated cantilever arrays offers a new paradigm for the development of biosensors based on nanomechanics. Microcantilever-based systems are capable of real-time, multiplexed detection of unlabeled disease markers in extremely small volumes......, electronic processing, and even local telemetry on a single chip have the potential of satisfying the need for highly sensitive and selective multiple-target detection in very small samples. Here we will review the design and fabrication process of cantilever-based biosensors....

Cantilever biosensor reader using a common-path, holographic optical interferometer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Henrik Chresten; Jakobsen, Michael Linde; Hanson, Steen Grüner

2010-01-01

We demonstrate an optical reader principle aimed at monitoring biologically induced deflections of microcantilevers often used in biosensor systems. The principle is based on a so-called common-path optical interferometer in which the two interfering optical beams are copropagating,which makes...

Development of graphene nanoplatelet embedded polymer microcantilever for vapour phase explosive detection applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ray, Prasenjit; Pandey, Swapnil; Ramgopal Rao, V.

2014-01-01

In this work, a graphene based strain sensor has been reported for explosive vapour detection applications by exploiting the piezoresistive property of graphene. Instead of silicon based cantilevers, a low cost polymeric micro-cantilever platform has been used to fabricate this strain sensor by embedding the graphene nanoplatelet layer inside the beam. The fabricated devices were characterized for their mechanical and electromechanical behaviour. This device shows a very high gauge factor which is around ∼144. Also the resonant frequency of these cantilevers is high enough such that the measurements are not affected by environmental noise. These devices have been used in this work for reliable detection of explosive vapours such as 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene down to parts-per-billion concentrations in ambient conditions.

Nanogram per milliliter-level immunologic detection of alpha-fetoprotein with integrated rotating-resonance microcantilevers for early-stage diagnosis of heptocellular carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yongjing; Li, Xinxin; Zhang, Zhixiang; Zuo, Guomin; Cheng, Zhenxing; Yu, Haitao

2009-02-01

Nanogram per milliliter-level ultra-low concentration detection of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which is an important marker for heptocellular carcinoma, is in favor of early-stage prognosis and disease diagnosis. On-the-spot rapid detection of such antigens as AFP highly requires innovative micro/nano techniques. To meet this requirement, an advanced resonant microcantilever is developed and used for screening the tumor marker at nanogram per milliliter level. The sensing principle of the resonant microcantilever is measuring frequency-shift versus specific-adsorbed mass. With both electromagnetic resonance-exciting and piezoresistive readout elements on-chip integrated, the microcantilever sensor is operated in a rotating resonance mode to improve sensitivity and resolution to specific mass adsorption. Prior to detection of AFP with previously immobilized anti-AFP antibody, the antigen-antibody specific-binding is confirmed with an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay experiment. By implementing the specific reaction in liquid and reading out the sensor signal in lab air environment, the micromechanical sensor has achieved the sensitive scale between 2 and 20 ng/ml. To effectively depress cross-talk signal and improve resolution, the insensitive regions of the cantilever surface are pre-modified with 2-[methoxy (polyethyleneoxy) propyl] trimethoxysilane for nonspecific bio-adsorption minimization. Finally, a better AFP detecting limit than 2 ng/mL is experimentally achieved. The label-free resonant microcantilever sensor is promising in low-cost or even disposable early-stage prognosis and diagnosis of tumors.

Miniature piezoresistive solid state integrated pressure sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Kahng, S. K.

1980-01-01

The characteristics of silicon pressure sensors with an ultra-small diaphragm are described. The pressure sensors utilize rectangular diaphragm as small as 0.0127 x 0.0254 cm and a p-type Wheatstone bridge consisting of diffused piezoresistive elements, 0.000254 cm by 0.00254 cm. These sensors exhibit as high as 0.5 MHz natural frequency and 1 mV/V/psi pressure sensitivity. Fabrication techniques and high frequency results from shock tube testing and low frequency comparison with microphones are presented.

Modeling and boundary force control of microcantilevers utilized in atomic force microscopy for cellular imaging and characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Eslami, Sohrab

the proposed Euler-Bernoulli model, a more comprehensive model is developed by modeling the probe dynamics and including the effects of the rotary inertia and shear deformation under the same proposed tip-sample interaction force. An extensive comparative study between the Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam assumptions is conducted for different conditions including different base-excitation amplitudes and higher modes. The results underline that the comprehensive Timoshenko model unveils the effects of the nonlinear interaction force better than the Euler-Bernoulli beam model. In addition to extensive modeling efforts on the microcantilever and its interaction with sample, an adaptive control framework is developed in order to make the microcantilever's tip follow a desired trajectory. This trajectory can further be considered as an important path acquired by the path planning techniques to manipulate the nanoparticles. There is a base excitation considered for this model and can be considered as an input force control to excite the probe by taking advantage of flexibility of the cantilever despite its complexity and under existence of the external nonlinear interaction forces between the tip and sample's surface. When building such complicated controller on top of the proposed comprehensive model, the results could be extended to study a macro-micro hybrid rigid-flexible model of a microrobot to mimic the realistic behavior of the MM3ARTM microrobot. The MM3ARTM microrobot is equipped with a piezoresistive layer which functions as a force sensor and is capable of measuring very slight forces as small as micro to nano-Newton. Two types of controllers are investigated for the case of the tip force control. Lyapunov-based PD and robust adaptive controllers are developed for this purpose and their performances and stabilities are compared. In the experimental part, a platform for performing the automated nanomanipulation and real-time cellular imaging is developed by

Piezoresistive polysilicon film obtained by low-temperature aluminum-induced crystallization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patil, Suraj Kumar; Celik-Butler, Zeynep; Butler, Donald P.

2010-01-01

A low-temperature deposition process employing aluminum-induced crystallization has been developed for fabrication of piezoresistive polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) films on low cost and flexible polyimide substrates for force and pressure sensing applications. To test the piezoresistive properties of the polysilicon films, prototype pressure sensors were fabricated on surface-micromachined silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) diaphragms, in a half-Wheatstone bridge configuration. Characterization of the pressure sensor was performed using atomic force microscope in contact mode with a specially modified probe-tip. Low pressure values ranging from 5 kPa to 45 kPa were achieved by this method. The resistance change was found to be - 0.1% to 0.5% and 0.07% to 0.3% for polysilicon films obtained at 500 o C and 400 o C, respectively, for the applied pressure range.

Self-sensing piezoresistive cement composite loaded with carbon black particles

KAUST Repository

Monteiro, André O.

2017-04-27

Strain sensors can be embedded in civil engineering infrastructures to perform real-time service life monitoring. Here, the sensing capability of piezoresistive cement-based composites loaded with carbon black (CB) particles is investigated. Several composite mixtures, with a CB filler loading up to 10% of binder mass, were mechanically tested under cyclic uniaxial compression, registering variations in electrical resistance as a function of deformation. The results show a reversible piezoresistive behaviour and a quasi-linear relation between the fractional change in resistivity and the compressive strain, in particular for those compositions with higher amount of CB. Gage factors of 30 and 24 were found for compositions containing 7 and 10% of binder mass, respectively. These findings suggest that the CB-cement composites may be a promising active material to monitor compressive strain in civil infrastructures such as concrete bridges and roadways.

Origin of bending in uncoated microcantilever - Surface topography?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lakshmoji, K.; Prabakar, K.; Tripura Sundari, S.; Jayapandian, J.; Tyagi, A. K.; Sundar, C. S.

2014-01-01

We provide direct experimental evidence to show that difference in surface topography on opposite sides of an uncoated microcantilever induces bending, upon exposure to water molecules. Examination on opposite sides of the microcantilever by atomic force microscopy reveals the presence of localized surface features on one side, which renders the induced stress non-uniform. Further, the root mean square inclination angle characterizing the surface topography shows a difference of 73° between the opposite sides. The absence of deflection in another uncoated microcantilever having similar surface topography confirms that in former microcantilever bending is indeed induced by differences in surface topography

Young’s modulus of multi-layer microcantilevers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhikang Deng

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A theoretical model for calculating the Young’s modulus of multi-layer microcantilevers with a coating is proposed, and validated by a three-dimensional (3D finite element (FE model using ANSYS parametric design language (APDL and atomic force microscopy (AFM characterization. Compared with typical theoretical models (Rayleigh-Ritz model, Euler-Bernoulli (E-B beam model and spring mass model, the proposed theoretical model can obtain Young’s modulus of multi-layer microcantilevers more precisely. Also, the influences of coating’s geometric dimensions on Young’s modulus and resonant frequency of microcantilevers are discussed. The thickness of coating has a great influence on Young’s modulus and resonant frequency of multi-layer microcantilevers, and the coating should be considered to calculate Young’s modulus more precisely, especially when fairly thicker coating is employed.

Design of Microcantilever-Based Biosensor with Digital Feedback Control Circuit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jayu P. Kalambe

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper present the design of cantilever-based biosensors with new readout, which hold promises as fast and cheap “point of care” device as well as interesting research tools. The fabrication process and related issues of the cantilever based bio-sensor are discussed. Coventorware simulation is carried out to analyze the device behavior. A fully integrated control circuit has been designed to solve manufacturing challenge which will take care of positioning of the cantilever instead of creating nanometer gap between the electrodes. The control circuit will solve the manufacturing challenge faced by the readout methods where it is essential to maintain precise gap between the electrodes. The circuit can take care of variation obtained due to fabrication process and maintain the precise gap between the electrodes by electrostatic actuation. The control circuit consist of analog and digital modules. The reliability issues of the sensor are also discussed.

Superparamagnetic photocurable nanocomposite for the fabrication of microcantilevers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Suter, M; Ergeneman, O; Zürcher, J

2011-01-01

We present a photocurable polymer composite with superparamagnetic characteristics for the fabrication of microcantilevers. Uniform distribution and low particle agglomeration (......We present a photocurable polymer composite with superparamagnetic characteristics for the fabrication of microcantilevers. Uniform distribution and low particle agglomeration (...

Review: Semiconductor Piezoresistance for Microsystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Barlian, A Alvin; Park, Woo-Tae; Mallon, Joseph R; Rastegar, Ali J; Pruitt, Beth L

2009-01-01

Piezoresistive sensors are among the earliest micromachined silicon devices. The need for smaller, less expensive, higher performance sensors helped drive early micromachining technology, a precursor to microsystems or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The effect of stress on doped silicon and germanium has been known since the work of Smith at Bell Laboratories in 1954. Since then, researchers have extensively reported on microscale, piezoresistive strain gauges, pressure sensors, accelerometers, and cantilever force/displacement sensors, including many commercially successful devices. In this paper, we review the history of piezoresistance, its physics and related fabrication techniques. We also discuss electrical noise in piezoresistors, device examples and design considerations, and alternative materials. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of integrated piezoresistor technology with an introduction to the physics of piezoresistivity, process and material selection and design guidance useful to researchers and device engineers.

Size-Dependent Dynamic Behavior of a Microcantilever Plate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoming Wang

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Material length scale considerably affects the mechanical properties of microcantilever components. Recently, cantilever-plate-like structures have been commonly used, whereas the lack of studies on their size effects constrains the design, testing, and application of these structures. We have studied the size-dependent dynamic behavior of a cantilever plate based on a modified couple stress theory and the differential quadrature method in this note. The numerical solutions of microcantilever plate equation involving the size effect have been presented. We have also analyzed the bending and vibration of the microcantilever plates considering the size effect and discussed the dependence of the size effect on their geometric dimensions. The results have shown that (1 the mechanical characteristics of the cantilever plate show obvious size effects; as a result, the bending deflection of a microcantilever plate reduces whereas the natural frequency increases effectively and (2 for the plates with the same material, the size effect becomes more obvious when the plates are thinner.

Rapid microcantilever-thickness determination by optical interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salmon, Andrew R; Capener, Matthew J; Elliott, Stephen R; Baumberg, Jeremy J

2014-01-01

Silicon microcantilevers are widely used in scanning-probe microscopy and in cantilever-sensing applications. However, the cantilever thickness is not well controlled in conventional lithography and, since it is also difficult to measure, it is the most important undefined factor in mechanical variability. An accurate method to measure this parameter is thus essential. We demonstrate the capability to measure microcantilever thicknesses rapidly (>1 Hz) and accurately (±2 nm) by optical interferometry. This is achieved with standard microscopy equipment and so can be implemented as a standard technique in both research and in batch control for commercial microfabrication. In addition, we show how spatial variations in the thickness of individual microcantilevers can be mapped, which has applications in the precise mechanical calibration of cantilevers for force spectroscopy. (paper)

Numerical investigation of perforated polymer microcantilever sensor for contractile behavior of cardiomyocytes

Science.gov (United States)

Khoa Nguyen, Trieu; Lee, Dong-Weon; Lee, Bong-Kee

2017-06-01

In this study, a numerical investigation of microcantilever sensors for detecting the contractile behavior of cardiomyocytes (CMs) was performed. Recently, a novel surface-patterned perforated SU-8 microcantilever sensor has been developed for the preliminary screening of cardiac toxicity. From the contractile motion of the CMs cultured on the microcantilever surface, a macroscopic bending of the microcantilever was obtained, which is considered to reflect a physiological change. As a continuation of the previous research, a novel numerical method based on a surface traction model was proposed and verified to further understand the bending behavior of the microcantilevers. Effects of various factors, including surface traction magnitude, focal area of CMs, and stiffness of microcantilever, on the bending displacement were investigated. From static and transient analyses, the focal area was found to be the most crucial factor. In addition, the current result can provide a design guideline for various micromechanical devices based on the same principle.

Sensitivity enhancement of polysilicon piezo-resistive pressure sensors with phosphorous diffused resistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sivakumar, K; Dasgupta, N; Bhat, K N; Natarajan, K

2006-01-01

It is generally accepted that the piezo-resistive coefficient in single crystal silicon is higher when P-type impurities such as boron are used for doping the resistors. In this paper we demonstrate that the sensitivity of polycrystalline silicon piezo-resistive pressure sensors can be enhanced considerably when phosphorus diffusion source is used instead of boron dopant for realizing the piezo-resistors. Pressure sensors have been designed and fabricated with the polycrystalline piezo-resistors connected in the form of a Wheatstone bridge and laid out on thermal oxide grown on membranes obtained with a Silicon On Insulator (SOI) approach. The SOI wafers required for this purpose have been realized in-house by Silicon Fusion Bonding (SFB) and etch back technique in our laboratory. This approach provides excellent isolation between the resistors and enables zero temperature coefficient of the polysilicon resistor. The results obtained in our laboratory have clearly demonstrated that by optimizing the phosphorus diffusion temperature and duration, it is possible to achieve sensitivities in excess of 20mV /Bar for bridge input voltage of 10V, with linearity within 1% over a differential pressure range up to 10Bar (10 6 Pascal), and burst pressure in excess of 50 Bar as compared to the 10mV /Bar sensitivity obtained with boron doped polysilicon piezo-resistors. This enhancement is attributed to grain boundary passivation by phosphorous atoms

Method of making gold thiolate and photochemically functionalized microcantilevers

Science.gov (United States)

Boiadjiev, Vassil I [Knoxville, TN; Brown, Gilbert M [Knoxville, TN; Pinnaduwage, Lal A [Knoxville, TN; Thundat, Thomas G [Knoxville, TN; Bonnesen, Peter V [Knoxville, TN; Goretzki, Gudrun [Nottingham, GB

2009-08-25

Highly sensitive sensor platforms for the detection of specific reagents, such as chromate, gasoline and biological species, using microcantilevers and other microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) whose surfaces have been modified with photochemically attached organic monolayers, such as self-assembled monolayers (SAM), or gold-thiol surface linkage are taught. The microcantilever sensors use photochemical hydrosilylation to modify silicon surfaces and gold-thiol chemistry to modify metallic surfaces thereby enabling individual microcantilevers in multicantilever array chips to be modified separately. Terminal vinyl substituted hydrocarbons with a variety of molecular recognition sites can be attached to the surface of silicon via the photochemical hydrosilylation process. By focusing the activating UV light sequentially on selected silicon or silicon nitride hydrogen terminated surfaces and soaking or spotting selected metallic surfaces with organic thiols, sulfides, or disulfides, the microcantilevers are functionalized. The device and photochemical method are intended to be integrated into systems for detecting specific agents including chromate groundwater contamination, gasoline, and biological species.

Simplified Aeroelastic Model for Fluid Structure Interaction between Microcantilever Sensors and Fluid Surroundings.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Wang

Full Text Available Fluid-structural coupling occurs when microcantilever sensors vibrate in a fluid. Due to the complexity of the mechanical characteristics of microcantilevers and lack of high-precision microscopic mechanical testing instruments, effective methods for studying the fluid-structural coupling of microcantilevers are lacking, especially for non-rectangular microcantilevers. Here, we report fluid-structure interactions (FSI of the cable-membrane structure via a macroscopic study. The simplified aeroelastic model was introduced into the microscopic field to establish a fluid-structure coupling vibration model for microcantilever sensors. We used the finite element method to solve the coupled FSI system. Based on the simplified aeroelastic model, simulation analysis of the effects of the air environment on the vibration of the commonly used rectangular microcantilever was also performed. The obtained results are consistent with the literature. The proposed model can also be applied to the auxiliary design of rectangular and non-rectangular sensors used in fluid environments.

SU-8 Based Piezoresistive Mechanical Sensor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thaysen, Jacob; Yalcinkaya, Arda Deniz; Vestergaard, R.K.

2002-01-01

We present the first SU-8 based piezoresistive mechanical sensor. Conventionally, silicon has been used as a piezoresistive material due to its high gauge factor and thereby high sensitivity to strain changes in a sensor. By using the fact that SU-8 is much softer than silicon and that a gold...

Effectiveness of Modal Decomposition for Tapping Atomic Force Microscopy Microcantilevers in Liquid Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Il Kwang; Lee, Soo Il

2016-05-01

The modal decomposition of tapping mode atomic force microscopy microcantilevers in liquid environments was studied experimentally. Microcantilevers with different lengths and stiffnesses and two sample surfaces with different elastic moduli were used in the experiment. The response modes of the microcantilevers were extracted as proper orthogonal modes through proper orthogonal decomposition. Smooth orthogonal decomposition was used to estimate the resonance frequency directly. The effects of the tapping setpoint and the elastic modulus of the sample under test were examined in terms of their multi-mode responses with proper orthogonal modes, proper orthogonal values, smooth orthogonal modes and smooth orthogonal values. Regardless of the stiffness of the microcantilever under test, the first mode was dominant in tapping mode atomic force microscopy under normal operating conditions. However, at lower tapping setpoints, the flexible microcantilever showed modal distortion and noise near the tip when tapping on a hard sample. The stiff microcantilever had a higher mode effect on a soft sample at lower tapping setpoints. Modal decomposition for tapping mode atomic force microscopy can thus be used to estimate the characteristics of samples in liquid environments.

Microcantilever-based platforms as biosensing tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Mar; Lechuga, Laura M

2010-05-01

The fast and progressive growth of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields forces the development of new and powerful sensing techniques for process optimization and detection of biomolecules at very low concentrations. During the last years, the simplest MEMS structures, i.e. microcantilevers, have become an emerging and promising technology for biosensing applications, due to their small size, fast response, high sensitivity and their compatible integration into "lab-on-a-chip" devices. This article provides an overview of some of the most interesting bio-detections carried out during the last 2-3 years with the microcantilever-based platforms, which highlight the continuous expansion of this kind of sensor in the medical diagnosis field, reaching limits of detection at the single molecule level.

Optimization of sensitivity and noise in piezoresistive cantilevers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yu, Xiaomei; Thaysen, Jacob; Hansen, Ole

2002-01-01

In this article, the sensitivity and the noise of piezoresistive cantilevers were systematically investigated with respect to the piezoresistor geometry, the piezoresistive materials, the doping dose, the annealing temperature, and the operating biased voltage. With the noise optimization results......(-6), the biggest gauge factors was 95, and the minimum detectable deflection (MDD) at 6 V and 200 Hz-measurement bandwidth was 0.3 nm for a single-crystal silicon cantilever. Of the two LPCVD silicon piezoresistive cantilevers, amorphous silicon piezoresistors had relatively lower 1/f noise. The MDD for a LPCVD...

New pastes with high gauge factor for piezoresistive pressure sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szczepanski, Z.; Kalenik, J.; Gonciara, P.; Jakubowska, M.

1999-01-01

The thick film resistors with gauge factor exhibit high reversible changes of resistance under the influence of external load. The piezoresistivity of thick film resistors is utilized in piezoresistive pressure sensors as well as sensors, those allow force detection. The results of studies concerning piezoresistivity in thick film resistors made of pastes elaborated by the authors are presented in this paper. The GF measurement method has been designed and several resistive pastes were tested. The values of gauge factor for these resistive compositions have been evaluated and piezoresistive properties were compared with ESL resistive composition designed for sensor application. (author)

A Review: Carbon Nanotube-Based Piezoresistive Strain Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waris Obitayo

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The use of carbon nanotubes for piezoresistive strain sensors has acquired significant attention due to its unique electromechanical properties. In this comprehensive review paper, we discussed some important aspects of carbon nanotubes for strain sensing at both the nanoscale and macroscale. Carbon nanotubes undergo changes in their band structures when subjected to mechanical deformations. This phenomenon makes them applicable for strain sensing applications. This paper signifies the type of carbon nanotubes best suitable for piezoresistive strain sensors. The electrical resistivities of carbon nanotube thin film increase linearly with strain, making it an ideal material for a piezoresistive strain sensor. Carbon nanotube composite films, which are usually fabricated by mixing small amounts of single-walled or multiwalled carbon nanotubes with selected polymers, have shown promising characteristics of piezoresistive strain sensors. Studies also show that carbon nanotubes display a stable and predictable voltage response as a function of temperature.

Simulation of Biosensor using FEM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheeparamatti, B G; Hebbal, M S; Sheeparamatti, R B; Math, V B; Kadadevaramath, J S

2006-01-01

Bio-Micro Electro Mechanical Systems/Nano Electro Mechanical Systems include a wide variety of sensors, actuators, and complex micro/nano devices for biomedical applications. Recent advances in biosensors have shown that sensors based on bending of microfabricated cantilevers have potential advantages over earlier used detection methods. Thus, a simple cantilever beam can be used as a sensor for biomedical, chemical and environmental applications. Here, microfabricated multilayered cantilever beam is exposed to sensing environment. Lower layer being pure structural silicon or polymer and upper layer is of polymer with antigen/antibody immobilized in it. Obviously, it has an affinity towards its counterpart i.e. antibody/antigen. In the sensing environment, if counter elements exists, they get captured by this sensing beam head, and the cantilever beam deflects. This deflection can be sensed and the presence of counter elements in the environment can be predicted. In this work, a finite element model of a biosensor for sensing antibody/antigen reaction is developed and simulated using ANSYS/Multiphysics. The optimal dimensions of the microcantilever beam are selected based on permissible deflection range with the aid of MATLAB. In the model analysis, both weight and surface stress effects on the cantilever are considered. Approximate weights are taken into account because of counter elements, considering their molecular weight and possible number of elements required for sensing. The results obtained in terms of lateral deflection are presented

Bidirectional reconfiguration and thermal tuning of microcantilever metamaterial device operating from 77 K to 400 K

Science.gov (United States)

Pitchappa, Prakash; Manjappa, Manukumara; Krishnamoorthy, Harish N. S.; Chang, Yuhua; Lee, Chengkuo; Singh, Ranjan

2017-12-01

We experimentally report the bidirectional reconfiguration of an out-of-plane deformable microcantilever based metamaterial for advanced and dynamic manipulation of terahertz waves. The microcantilever is made of a bimaterial stack with a large difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the constituent materials. This allows for the continuous deformation of microcantilevers in upward or downward direction in response to positive or negative temperature gradient, respectively. The fundamental resonance frequency of the fabricated microcantilever metamaterial is measured at 0.4 THz at room temperature of 293 K. With decreasing temperature, the resonance frequency continuously blue shifts by 30 GHz at 77 K. On the other hand, with increasing temperature, the resonance frequency gradually red shifts by 80 GHz and saturates at 0.32 THz for 400 K. Furthermore, as the temperature is increased above room temperature, which results in the downward actuation of the microcantilever, a significant resonance line-narrowing with an enhanced quality factor is observed due to tight field confinement in the metamaterial structure. The thermal control of the microcantilever possesses numerous inherent advantages such as enhanced tunable range (˜37.5% in this work compared to previously reported microcantilever metamaterials), continuous tunability, and repeatable operations. The microcantilever metamaterial also shows high robustness to operate at cryogenic conditions and hence opens up the possibility of using meta-devices in harsh environments such as space, polar, and deep sea applications.

Thermal crosstalk in heated microcantilever arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hoe Joon; Dai, Zhenting; King, William P

2013-01-01

We report on a detailed characterization and analysis of thermal crosstalk in a heated microcantilever array. The fabricated heated cantilever array consists of five identical independently controlled heated cantilevers. The temperature of each cantilever can be controlled over a large temperature range, up to 900 °C, by means of an integrated solid-state resistive heater. We analyze thermal crosstalk in steady and transient operating conditions when the heated cantilever array is either in contact with a substrate or freely suspended in air. The thermal conductance between neighboring cantilevers is as high as 0.61 µW °C −1 , resulting in non-negligible temperature increases in neighboring cantilevers, depending upon the operating conditions. By understanding and accounting for thermal crosstalk, it is possible to improve temperature control and temperature measurements with heated microcantilever arrays. (paper)

Piezoresistive pressure sensor using low-temperature aluminium induced crystallization of sputter-deposited amorphous silicon film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwari, Ruchi; Chandra, Sudhir

2013-01-01

In the present work, we have investigated the piezoresistive properties of silicon films prepared by the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique, followed by the aluminium induced crystallization (AIC) process. Orientation and grain size of the polysilicon films were studied by x-ray diffraction analysis and found to be in the range 30–50 nm. Annealing of the Al–Si stack on an oxidized silicon substrate was performed in air ambient at 300–550 °C, resulting in layer exchange and transformation from amorphous to polysilicon phase. Van der Pauw and Hall measurement techniques were used to investigate the sheet resistance and carrier mobility of the resulting polycrystalline silicon film. The effect of Al thickness on the sheet resistance and mobility was also studied in the present work. A piezoresistive pressure sensor was fabricated on an oxidized silicon substrate in a Wheatstone bridge configuration, comprising of four piezoresistors made of polysilicon film obtained by the AIC process. The diaphragm was formed by the bulk-micromachining of silicon substrate. The response of the pressure sensor with applied negative pressure in 10–95 kPa range was studied. The gauge factor was estimated to be 5 and 18 for differently located piezoresistors on the diaphragm. The sensitivity of the pressure sensor was measured to be ∼ 30 mV MPa −1 , when the Wheatstone bridge was biased at 1 V input voltage. (paper)

Ultrasensitive Detection of Infrared Photon Using Microcantilever: Theoretical Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li-Xin, Cao; Feng-Xin, Zhang; Yin-Fang, Zhu; Jin-Ling, Yang

2010-01-01

We present a new method for detecting near-infrared, mid-infrared, and far-infrared photons with an ultrahigh sensitivity. The infrared photon detection was carried out by monitoring the displacement change of a vibrating microcantilever under light pressure using a laser Doppler vibrometer. Ultrathin silicon cantilevers with high sensitivity were produced using micro/nano-fabrication technology. The photon detection system was set up. The response of the microcantilever to the photon illumination is theoretically estimated, and a nanowatt resolution for the infrared photon detection is expected at room temperature with this method

Chemisorption-Induced Resonance Frequency Shift of a Microcantilever

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Ji-Qiao; Feng Xi-Qiao; Yu Shou-Wen; Huang Gan-Yun

2012-01-01

The autonomy and property of atoms/molecules adsorbed on the surface of a microcantilever can be probed by measuring its resonance frequency shift due to adsorption. The resonance frequency change of a cantilever induced by chemisorption is theoretically studied. Oxygen chemisorbed on the Si(100) surface is taken as a representative example. We demonstrate that the resonant response of the cantilever is mainly determined by the chemisorption-induced bending stiffness variation, which depends on the bond configurations formed by the adsorbed atoms and substrate atoms. This study is helpful for optimal design of microcantilever-based sensors for various applications. (condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties)

Electrostatic force microscopy with a self-sensing piezoresistive cantilever

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pi, U. H.; Kye, J. I.; Shin, S.; Khim, Z. G.; Hong, J. W.; Yoon, S.

2003-01-01

We present a new method for electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) using a piezoresistive cantilever instead of the conventional cantilever with an optical detector. In EFM with a piezoresistive cantilever, the electrostatic force between the tip and the sample is monitored by sensing the change in the resistance of the piezoresistive cantilever at a frequency of several tens of kHz. A large stray capacitance effect can be rejected by using an appropriate phase tuning of the phase-sensitive detection. We observed the ferroelectric domain images of a triglycine sulfate single crystal. We could also write fine patterns on a lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) thin film through domain reversal by applying various dc voltages between the tip and the sample. We suggest that the EFM technique using a self-sensing and self-actuating piezoresistive cantilever can be applied to a high-density data storage field

Piezoresistive Cantilever Performance-Part I: Analytical Model for Sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sung-Jin; Doll, Joseph C; Pruitt, Beth L

2010-02-01

An accurate analytical model for the change in resistance of a piezoresistor is necessary for the design of silicon piezoresistive transducers. Ion implantation requires a high-temperature oxidation or annealing process to activate the dopant atoms, and this treatment results in a distorted dopant profile due to diffusion. Existing analytical models do not account for the concentration dependence of piezoresistance and are not accurate for nonuniform dopant profiles. We extend previous analytical work by introducing two nondimensional factors, namely, the efficiency and geometry factors. A practical benefit of this efficiency factor is that it separates the process parameters from the design parameters; thus, designers may address requirements for cantilever geometry and fabrication process independently. To facilitate the design process, we provide a lookup table for the efficiency factor over an extensive range of process conditions. The model was validated by comparing simulation results with the experimentally determined sensitivities of piezoresistive cantilevers. We performed 9200 TSUPREM4 simulations and fabricated 50 devices from six unique process flows; we systematically explored the design space relating process parameters and cantilever sensitivity. Our treatment focuses on piezoresistive cantilevers, but the analytical sensitivity model is extensible to other piezoresistive transducers such as membrane pressure sensors.

Piezoresistive Cantilever Performance—Part I: Analytical Model for Sensitivity

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sung-Jin; Doll, Joseph C.; Pruitt, Beth L.

2010-01-01

An accurate analytical model for the change in resistance of a piezoresistor is necessary for the design of silicon piezoresistive transducers. Ion implantation requires a high-temperature oxidation or annealing process to activate the dopant atoms, and this treatment results in a distorted dopant profile due to diffusion. Existing analytical models do not account for the concentration dependence of piezoresistance and are not accurate for nonuniform dopant profiles. We extend previous analytical work by introducing two nondimensional factors, namely, the efficiency and geometry factors. A practical benefit of this efficiency factor is that it separates the process parameters from the design parameters; thus, designers may address requirements for cantilever geometry and fabrication process independently. To facilitate the design process, we provide a lookup table for the efficiency factor over an extensive range of process conditions. The model was validated by comparing simulation results with the experimentally determined sensitivities of piezoresistive cantilevers. We performed 9200 TSUPREM4 simulations and fabricated 50 devices from six unique process flows; we systematically explored the design space relating process parameters and cantilever sensitivity. Our treatment focuses on piezoresistive cantilevers, but the analytical sensitivity model is extensible to other piezoresistive transducers such as membrane pressure sensors. PMID:20336183

Note: A resonating reflector-based optical system for motion measurement in micro-cantilever arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sathishkumar, P.; Punyabrahma, P.; Sri Muthu Mrinalini, R.; Jayanth, G. R.

2015-01-01

A robust, compact optical measurement unit for motion measurement in micro-cantilever arrays enables development of portable micro-cantilever sensors. This paper reports on an optical beam deflection-based system to measure the deflection of micro-cantilevers in an array that employs a single laser source, a single detector, and a resonating reflector to scan the measurement laser across the array. A strategy is also proposed to extract the deflection of individual cantilevers from the acquired data. The proposed system and measurement strategy are experimentally evaluated and demonstrated to measure motion of multiple cantilevers in an array

Giant Geometrically Amplified Piezoresistance in Metal-Semiconductor Hybrid Resistors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Ole; Reck, Kasper; Thomsen, Erik Vilain

2008-01-01

We show that very high geometrically amplified piezoresistance can indeed be obtained in microstructured metal-semiconductor hybrid devices, even significantly higher amplification factors than the factor of approximately 8 demonstrated recently by Rowe and co-workers may be achieved. However, we...... than the sensitivity of conventional piezoresistors fabricated in the same piezoresistive material. ©2008 American Institute of Physics...

Exploiting NiTi shape memory alloy films in design of tunable high frequency microcantilever resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Stachiv, I.; Sittner, P.; Olejnicek, J.; Landa, M.; Heller, L.

2017-11-01

Shape memory alloy (SMA) films are very attractive materials for microactuators because of their high energy density. However, all currently developed SMA actuators utilize martensitic transformation activated by periodically generated heating and cooling; therefore, they have a slow actuation speed, just a few Hz, which restricts their use in most of the nanotechnology applications such as high frequency microcantilever based physical and chemical sensors, atomic force microscopes, or RF filters. Here, we design tunable high frequency SMA microcantilevers for nanotechnology applications. They consist of a phase transforming NiTi SMA film sputtered on the common elastic substrate material; in our case, it is a single-crystal silicon. The reversible tuning of microcantilever resonant frequencies is then realized by intentionally changing the Young's modulus and the interlayer stress of the NiTi film by temperature, while the elastic substrate guarantees the high frequency actuation (up to hundreds of kHz) of the microcantilever. The experimental results qualitatively agree with predictions obtained from the dedicated model based on the continuum mechanics theory and a phase characteristic of NiTi. The present design of SMA microcantilevers expands the capability of current micro-/nanomechanical resonators by enabling tunability of several consecutive resonant frequencies.

A novel piezoresistive polymer nanocomposite MEMS accelerometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seena, V; Hari, K; Prajakta, S; Ramgopal Rao, V; Pratap, Rudra

2017-01-01

A novel polymer MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems) accelerometer with photo-patternable polymer nanocomposite as a piezoresistor is presented in this work. Polymer MEMS Accelerometer with beam thicknesses of 3.3 µ m and embedded nanocomposite piezoresistive layer having a gauge factor of 90 were fabricated. The photosensitive nanocomposite samples were prepared and characterized for analyzing the mechanical and electrical properties and thereby ensuring proper process parameters for incorporating the piezoresistive layer into the polymer MEMS accelerometer. The microfabrication process flow and unit processes followed are extremely low cost with process temperatures below 100 °C. This also opens up a new possibility for easy integration of such polymer MEMS with CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) devices and circuits. The fabricated devices were characterized using laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) and the devices exhibited a resonant frequency of 10.8 kHz and a response sensitivity of 280 nm g −1 at resonance. The main focus of this paper is on the SU-8/CB nanocomposite piezoresistive MEMS accelerometer technology development which covers the material and the fabrication aspects of these devices. CoventorWare FEA analysis performed using the extracted material properties from the experimental characterization which are in close agreement to performance parameters of the fabricated devices is also discussed. The simulated piezoresistive polymer MEMS devices showed an acceleration sensitivity of 126 nm g −1 and 82 ppm of Δ R / R per 1 g of acceleration. (paper)

The Young's modulus of high-aspect-ratio carbon/carbon nanotube composite microcantilevers by experimental and modeling validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Peng; Yang, Xiao; He, Liang; Hao, Zhimeng; Luo, Wen; Xiong, Biao; Xu, Xu; Niu, Chaojiang; Yan, Mengyu; Mai, Liqiang

2015-01-01

This paper reports the Young's modulus of a carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced carbon/CNT (C/CNT) composite microcantilevers measured by laser Doppler vibrometer and validated by finite element method. Also, the microfabrication process of the high-aspect-ratio C/CNT microcantilever arrays based on silicon micromolding and pyrolysis is presented in detail. With the in-plane natural resonant frequencies of the microcantilevers measured by a laser Doppler vibrometer, a single degree of freedom (SDoF) model based on Euler-Bernoulli (E-B) beam theory is used to calculate the Young's modulus of this composite. To figure out whether this SDoF model can be applied to these composite microcantilevers, the finite element (FE) simulation of these microcantilevers was performed. The Young's modulus of C/CNT composite microcantilevers fabricated by the pyrolysis process at 600 °C is 9391 MPa, and a good agreement between the results from experiments and FE simulation is obtained

Nanomechanical microcantilever operated in vibration modes with use of RNA aptamer as receptor molecules for label-free detection of HCV helicase.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Kyo Seon; Lee, Sang-Myung; Eom, Kilho; Lee, Jeong Hoon; Lee, Yoon-Sik; Park, Jung Ho; Yoon, Dae Sung; Kim, Tae Song

2007-11-30

We report the nanomechanical microcantilevers operated in vibration modes (oscillation) with use of RNA aptamers as receptor molecules for label-free detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) helicase. The nanomechanical detection principle is that the ligand-receptor binding on the microcantilever surface induces the dynamic response change of microcantilevers. We implemented the label-free detection of HCV helicase in the low concentration as much as 100 pg/ml from measuring the dynamic response change of microcantilevers. Moreover, from the recent studies showing that the ligand-receptor binding generates the surface stress on the microcantilever, we estimate the surface stress, on the oscillating microcantilevers, induced by ligand-receptor binding, i.e. binding between HCV helicase and RNA aptamer. In this article, it is suggested that the oscillating microcantilevers with use of RNA aptamers as receptor molecules may enable one to implement the sensitive label-free detection of very small amount of small-scale proteins.

A novel mechano-optical sensor based on read-out with a Si3N4 grated waveguide

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pham Van So, P.V.S.; Dijkstra, Mindert; van Wolferen, Hendricus A.G.M.; Pollnau, Markus; Krijnen, Gijsbertus J.M.; Hoekstra, Hugo

2011-01-01

Microcantilever-based sensors can be used to detect molecular absorption of, for example, hydrogen gas, which causes changes in the surface stress, leading to deflection of the cantilever. Such a deflection can be determined by means of optical beam deflection, capacitance-, or piezo-resistance

Effects of Fluid Environment Properties on the Nonlinear Vibrations of AFM Piezoelectric Microcantilevers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masoud Ahmadi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, atomic-force microscopy plays a significant role in nanoscience and nanotechnology, and is widely used for direct measurement at atomic scale and scanning the sample surfaces. In tapping mode, the microcantilever of atomic-force microscope is excited at resonance frequency. Therefore, it is important to study its resonance. Moreover, atomic-force microscopes can be operated in fluid environments such as their applications in chemical and biological sensors. Additionally, piezoelectric microcantilevers are used to enhance atomic-force microscope scanning. Motivated by these considerations, presented herein is a finite element investigation into the nonlinear vibration behavior of piezoelectric microcantilever of atomic-force microscopes in fluid environment. For this purpose, a 3D finite element model coupled with a computational fluid dynamics model is introduced based upon a fluid-solid interaction analysis. First, the reliability of present fluid-solid interaction analysis is revealed by comparison with experimental data available in the literature. Then, numerical results are presented to study the influences of fluid dynamic viscosity and density on the resonance frequency, resonance amplitude and time response of piezoelectric microcantilever. It was shown that increasing the fluid density and dynamic viscosity results in the decrease of resonance frequency. For example, for density equal to 1000 kg/m3 , increasing the viscosity of fluid environment from 0.1 to 1, 10 and 20 mPa.s leads to decrease of resonance frequency about 3%, 29% and 42%, respectively. Also, the resonance amplitude of microcantilever increases as the density increases, while increasing dynamic viscosity has a decreasing effect on the resonance amplitude.

Combined Differential and Static Pressure Sensor based on a Double-Bridged Structure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Casper; Jespersen, S.T.; Krog, J.P.

2005-01-01

A combined differential and static silicon microelectromechanical system pressure sensor based on a double piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge structure is presented. The developed sensor has a conventional (inner) bridge on a micromachined diaphragm and a secondary (outer) bridge on the chip...... substrate. A novel approach is demonstrated with a combined measurement of outputs from the two bridges, which results in a combined deduction of both differential and static media pressure. Also following this new approach, a significant improvement in differential pressure sensor accuracy is achieved....... Output from the two bridges depends linearly on both differential and absolute (relative to atmospheric pressure) media pressure. Furthermore, the sensor stress distributions involved are studied by three-dimensional finite-element (FE) stress analysis. Furthermore, the FE analysis evaluates current...

Development of phage/antibody immobilized magnetostrictive biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Liling

There is an urgent need for biosensors that are able to detect and quantify the presence of a small amount of pathogens in a real-time manner accurately and quickly to guide prevention efforts and assay food and water quality. Acoustic wave (AW) devices, whose performance is defined by mass sensitivity (Sm) and quality factor (Q value), have been extensively studied as high performance biosensor platforms. However, current AW devices still face some challenges such as the difficulty to be employed in liquid and low Q value in practical applications. The objective of this research is to develop magnetostrictive sensors which include milli/microcantilever type (MSMC) and particle type (MSP). Compared to other AW devices, MSMC exhibits the following advantages: (1) wireless/remote driving and sensing; (2) easy to fabricate; (3) works well in liquid; (4) exhibits a high Q value (> 500 in air). The fundamental study of the damping effect on MSMCs from the surrounding media including air and liquids were conducted to improve the Q value of MSMCs. The experiment results show that the Q value is dependent on the properties of surrounding media (e.g. viscosity, density), the geometry of the MSMCs, and the harmonic mode on the resonance behavior of MSMCs, etc. The phage-coated MSMC has high specificity and sensitivity even while used in water with a low concentration of targeted bacteria. Two currently developed phages, JRB7 and E2, respectively respond to Bacillus anthracis spores and Salmonella typhimurium, were employed as bio-recognition elements in this research. The phage-immobilized MSMC biosensors exhibited high performance and detection of limit was 5 x 104 cfu/ml for the MSMC in size of 1.4 x 0.8 x 0.035 mm. The MSMC-based biosensors were indicated as a very potential method for in-situ monitoring of the biological quality in water. The MSP combine antibody was used to detect Staphylococcus aureus in this experiment. The interface between MSPs and antibody was

Piezoresistive silicon pressure sensors in cryogenic environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kahng, Seun K.; Chapman, John J.

1989-01-01

This paper presents data on low-temperature measurements of silicon pressure sensors. It was found that both the piezoresistance coefficients and the charge-carrier mobility increase with decreasing temperature. For lightly doped semiconductor materials, the density of free charge carriers decreases with temperature and can freeze out eventually. However, the effect of carrier freeze-out can be minimized by increasing the impurity content to higher levels, at which the temperature dependency of piezoresistance coefficients is reduced. An impurity density of 1 x 10 to the 19th/cu cm was found to be optimal for cryogenic applications of pressure sensor dies.

Hierarchical capillary adhesion of microcantilevers or hairs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jianlin; Feng Xiqiao; Xia Re; Zhao Hongping

2007-01-01

As a result of capillary forces, animal hairs, carbon nanotubes or nanowires of a periodically or randomly distributed array often assemble into hierarchical structures. In this paper, the energy method is adopted to analyse the capillary adhesion of microsized hairs, which are modelled as clamped microcantilevers wetted by liquids. The critical conditions for capillary adhesion of two hairs, three hairs or two bundles of hairs are derived in terms of Young's contact angle, elastic modulus and geometric sizes of the beams. Then, the hierarchical capillary adhesion of hairs is addressed. It is found that for multiple hairs or microcantilevers, the system tends to take a hierarchical structure as a result of the minimization of the total potential energy of the system. The level number of structural hierarchy increases with the increase in the number of hairs if they are sufficiently long. Additionally, we performed experiments to verify our theoretical solutions for the adhesion of microbeams

Processing-structure-property relationships of carbon nanotube and nanoplatelet enabled piezoresistive sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Sida

Individual carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess excellent piezoresistive performance, which is manifested by the significant electrical resistance change when subject to mechanical deformation. In comparison to individual CNTs, the CNT thin films, formed by a random assembly of individual tubes or bundles, show much lower piezoresistive sensitivity. Given the progress made to date in developing CNT ensemble based-piezoresistive sensors, the related piezoresistive mechanism(s) are still not well understood. The crucial step to obtain a better understanding of this issue is to study the effects of CNT structure in the dispersion on the piezoresistivity of CNT ensemble based-piezoresistive sensors. To reach this goal, my Ph.D. research first focuses on establishing the processing-structure-property relationship of SWCNT thin film piezoresistive sensors. The key accomplishment contains: 1) developing the combined preparative ultracentrifuge method (PUM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) method to quantitatively characterized SWCNT particle size in dispersions under various sonication conditions; 2) designing combined ultrasonication and microfluidization processing protocol for high throughput and large-scale production of high quality SWCNT dispersions; 3) fabricating varied SWCNT thin film piezoresistive sensors through spray coating technique and immersion-drying post-treatment; and 4) investigating the effect of microstructures of SWCNTs on piezoresistivity of SWCNT thin film sensors. This experimental methodology for quantitative and systematic investigation of the processing-structure-property relationships provides a means for the performance optimization of CNT ensemble based piezoresistive sensors. As a start to understand the piezoresistive mechanism, the second focus of my Ph.D. research is studying charge transport behaviors in SWCNT thin films. It was found that the temperature-dependent sheet resistance of SWCNT thin films could be explained by a 3D variable

Shielded piezoresistive cantilever probes for nanoscale topography and electrical imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Yongliang; Ma, Eric Yue; Cui, Yong-Tao; Lai, Keji; Kundhikanjana, Worasom; Kelly, Michael; Shen, Zhi-Xun; Haemmerli, Alexandre; Harjee, Nahid; Pruitt, Beth L

2014-01-01

This paper presents the design and fabrication of piezoresistive cantilever probes for microwave impedance microscopy (MIM) to enable simultaneous topographic and electrical imaging. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited Si 3 N 4  cantilevers with a shielded center conductor line and nanoscale conductive tip apex are batch fabricated on silicon-on-insulator wafers. Doped silicon piezoresistors are integrated at the root of the cantilevers to sense their deformation. The piezoresistive sensitivity is 2 nm for a bandwidth of 10 kHz, enabling topographical imaging with reasonable speed. The aluminum center conductor has a low resistance (less than 5 Ω) and small capacitance (∼1.7 pF) to ground; these parameters are critical for high sensitivity MIM imaging. High quality piezoresistive topography and MIM images are simultaneously obtained with the fabricated probes at ambient and cryogenic temperatures. These new piezoresistive probes remarkably broaden the horizon of MIM for scientific applications by operating with an integrated feedback mechanism at low temperature and for photosensitive samples. (paper)

Novel temperature compensation technique for force-sensing piezoresistive devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, Joshua; Enikov, Eniko T

2011-01-01

A novel stress-insensitive piezoresistor in the shape of an annulus has been developed to be used in conjunction with a piezoresistive bridge for temperature-compensated force measurements. Under uniform stress conditions, the annular resistor shows near-zero stress sensitivity and a linear response to temperature excitation within test conditions of 24–34 °C. Annular resistors were placed in close proximity to stress-sensitive elements in order to detect local temperature fluctuations. Experiments evaluating the performance of the temperature compensator while testing force sensitivity showed a thermal rejection ratio of 37.2 dB and near elimination of low-frequency noise (drift) below 0.07 Hz. Potential applications of this annular resistor include use in multi-axis force sensors for force feedback microassembly, improvements in the simplicity and robustness of high precision microgram sensitive balances, higher accuracy for silicon diaphragm-based pressure sensors and simple temperature compensation for AFM cantilevers.

Piezoresistance of Silicon and Strained Si0.9Ge0.1

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richter, Jacob; Hansen, Ole; Larsen, A. Nylandsted

2005-01-01

We present experimentally obtained results of the piezoresistive effect in p-type silicon and strained Si0.9Ge0.1. Today, strained Si1-xGex is used for high speed electronic devices. This paper investigates if this area of use can be expanded to also cover piezoresistive micro electro mechanical...... systems (MEMS) devices. The measurements are performed on microfabricated test chips where resistors are defined in layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (0 0 1) silicon substrates. A uniaxial stress along the [1 1 0] direction is applied to the chip, with the use of a four point bending fixture....... The investigation covers materials with doping levels of N-A = 10(18) cm(-3) and NA = 1019 cm(-3), respectively. The results show that the pi(66) piezoresistive coefficient in strained Si0.9Ge0.1 is approximately 30% larger than the comparable pi(44) piezoresistive coefficient in silicon at a doping level of N...

Tuning piezoresistive transduction in nanomechanical resonators by geometrical asymmetries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Llobet, J.; Sansa, M.; Lorenzoni, M.; Pérez-Murano, F., E-mail: francesc.perez@csic.es [Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona (IMB-CNM CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Spain); Borrisé, X. [Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra Spain (Spain); San Paulo, A. [Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid (IMM-CSIC), 28760 Tres Cantos, Madrid (Spain)

2015-08-17

The effect of geometrical asymmetries on the piezoresistive transduction in suspended double clamped beam nanomechanical resonators is investigated. Tapered silicon nano-beams, fabricated using a fast and flexible prototyping method, are employed to determine how the asymmetry affects the transduced piezoresistive signal for different mechanical resonant modes. This effect is attributed to the modulation of the strain in pre-strained double clamped beams, and it is confirmed by means of finite element simulations.

Design and measurement of a piezoresistive ultrasonic sensor based on MEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Jiaqi; He Changde; Yuan Kejing; Xue Chenyang; Zhang Wendong; Lian Deqin

2013-01-01

A kind of piezoresistive ultrasonic sensor based on MEMS is proposed, which is composed of a membrane and two side beams. A simplified mathematical model has been established to analyze the mechanical properties of the sensor. On the basis of the theoretical analysis, the structural size and layout location of the piezoresistors are determined by simulation analysis. The boron-implanted piezoresistors located on membrane and side beams form a Wheatstone bridge to detect acoustic signal. The membrane-beam microstructure is fabricated integrally by MEMS manufacturing technology. Finally, this paper presents the experimental characterization of the ultrasonic sensor, validating the theoretical model used and the simulated model. The sensitivity reaches −116.2 dB (0 dB reference = 1 V/μbar, 31 kHz), resonant frequency is 39.6 kHz, direction angle is 55°. (semiconductor devices)

Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos of Microcantilever-Based TM-AFMs with Squeeze Film Damping Effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie-Yu Chen

2009-05-01

Full Text Available In Atomic force microscope (AFM examination of a vibrating microcantilever, the nonlinear tip-sample interaction would greatly influence the dynamics of the cantilever. In this paper, the nonlinear dynamics and chaos of a tip-sample dynamic system being run in the tapping mode (TM were investigated by considering the effects of hydrodynamic loading and squeeze film damping. The microcantilever was modeled as a spring-mass-damping system and the interaction between the tip and the sample was described by the Lennard-Jones (LJ potential. The fundamental frequency and quality factor were calculated from the transient oscillations of the microcantilever vibrating in air. Numerical simulations were carried out to study the coupled nonlinear dynamic system using the bifurcation diagram, Poincaré maps, largest Lyapunov exponent, phase portraits and time histories. Results indicated the occurrence of periodic and chaotic motions and provided a comprehensive understanding of the hydrodynamic loading of microcantilevers. It was demonstrated that the coupled dynamic system will experience complex nonlinear oscillation as the system parameters change and the effect of squeeze film damping is not negligible on the micro-scale.

Manipulation and controlled amplification of Brownian motion of microcantilever sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehta, Adosh; Cherian, Suman; Hedden, David; Thundat, Thomas

2001-01-01

Microcantilevers, such as those used in atomic force microscopy, undergo Brownian motion due to mechanical thermal noise. The root mean square amplitude of the Brownian motion of a cantilever typically ranges from 0.01--0.1 nm, which limits its use in practical applications. Here we describe a technique by which the Brownian amplitude and the Q factor in air and water can be amplified by three and two orders of magnitude, respectively. This technique is similar to a positive feedback oscillator, wherein the Brownian motion of the vibrating cantilever controls the frequency output of the oscillator. This technique can be exploited to improve sensitivity of microcantilever-based chemical and biological sensors, especially for sensors in liquid environments

Drastic modification of the piezoresistive behavior of polymer nanocomposites by using conductive polymer coatings

KAUST Repository

Ventura, Isaac Aguilar; Zhou, Jian; Lubineau, Gilles

2015-01-01

We obtained highly conductive nanocomposites by adding conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS)-coated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to pristine insulating Polycarbonate. Because the PEDOT/PSS ensures efficient charge transfer both along and between the CNTs, we could attribute the improvement in electrical conductivity to coating. In addition to improving the electrical conductivity, the coating also modified the piezoresistive behavior of the nanocomposites compared to the material with pristine uncoated CNTs: whereas CNT/Polycarbonate samples exhibited a very strong piezoresistive effect, PEDOT/PSS-coated MWCNT/Polycarbonate samples exhibited very little piezoresistivity. We studied this change in piezoresistive behavior in detail by investigating various configurations of filler content. We investigated how this observation could be explained by changes in the microstructure and in the conduction mechanism in the interfacial regions between the nanofillers. Our study suggests that tailoring the piezoresistive response to specific application requirements is possible.

Drastic modification of the piezoresistive behavior of polymer nanocomposites by using conductive polymer coatings

KAUST Repository

Ventura, Isaac Aguilar

2015-07-21

We obtained highly conductive nanocomposites by adding conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS)-coated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to pristine insulating Polycarbonate. Because the PEDOT/PSS ensures efficient charge transfer both along and between the CNTs, we could attribute the improvement in electrical conductivity to coating. In addition to improving the electrical conductivity, the coating also modified the piezoresistive behavior of the nanocomposites compared to the material with pristine uncoated CNTs: whereas CNT/Polycarbonate samples exhibited a very strong piezoresistive effect, PEDOT/PSS-coated MWCNT/Polycarbonate samples exhibited very little piezoresistivity. We studied this change in piezoresistive behavior in detail by investigating various configurations of filler content. We investigated how this observation could be explained by changes in the microstructure and in the conduction mechanism in the interfacial regions between the nanofillers. Our study suggests that tailoring the piezoresistive response to specific application requirements is possible.

Optimum Combination and Effect Analysis of Piezoresistor Dimensions in Micro Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor Using Design of Experiments and ANOVA: a Taguchi Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirankumar B. Balavalad

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Piezoresistive (PZR pressure sensors have gained importance because of their robust construction, high sensitivity and good linearity. The conventional PZR pressure sensor consists of 4 piezoresistors placed on diaphragm and are connected in the form of Wheatstone bridge. These sensors convert stress applied on them into change in resistance, which is quantified into voltage using Wheatstone bridge mechanism. It is observed form the literature that, the dimensions of piezoresistors are very crucial in the performance of the piezoresistive pressure sensor. This paper presents, a novel mechanism of finding best combinations and effect of individual piezoresistors dimensions viz., Length, Width and Thickness, using DoE and ANOVA (Analysis of Variance method, following Taguchi experimentation approach. The paper presents a unique method to find optimum combination of piezoresistors dimensions and also clearly illustrates the effect the dimensions on the output of the sensor. The optimum combinations and the output response of sensor is predicted using DoE and the validation simulation is done. The result of the validation simulation is compared with the predicted value of sensor response i.e., V. Predicted value of V is 1.074 V and the validation simulation gave the response for V as 1.19 V. This actually validates that the model (DoE and ANOVA is adequate in describing V in terms of the variables defined.

Frequency Invariability of (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O₃ Antiferroelectric Thick-Film Micro-Cantilevers.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Kun; Jin, Xuechen; Meng, Jiang; Li, Xiao; Ren, Yifeng

2018-05-13

Micro-electromechanical systems comprising antiferroelectric layers can offer both actuation and transduction to integrated technologies. Micro-cantilevers based on the (Pb 0.97 La 0.02 )(Zr 0.95 Ti 0.05 )O₃ (PLZT) antiferroelectric thick film are fabricated by the micro-nano manufacturing process, to utilize the effect of phase transition induced strain and sharp phase switch of antiferroelectric materials. When micro-cantilevers made of antiferroelectric thick films were driven by sweep voltages, there were two resonant peaks corresponding to the natural frequency shift from 27.8 to 27.0 kHz, before and after phase transition. This is the compensation principle for the PLZT micro-cantilever to tune the natural frequency by the amplitude modulation of driving voltage, rather than of frequency modulation. Considering the natural frequency shift about 0.8 kHz and the frequency tuning ability about 156 Hz/V before the phase transition, this can compensate the frequency shift caused by increasing temperature by tuning only the amplitude of driving voltage, when the ultrasonic micro-transducer made of antiferroelectric thick films works for such a long period. Therefore, antiferroelectric thick films with hetero-structures incorporated into PLZT micro-cantilevers not only require a lower driving voltage (no more than 40 V) than rival bulk piezoelectric ceramics, but also exhibit better performance of frequency invariability, based on the amplitude modulation.

Real-Time Salmonella Detection Using Lead Zirconate Titanate-Titanium Microcantilevers

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McGovern, John-Paul; Shih, Wan Y; Shih, Wei-Heng; Sergi, Mauro; Chaiken, Irwin

2005-01-01

.... We have developed and investigated the use of a lead zirconate titanate - titanium (PZT-Ti) microcantilever for in situ detection of the common food- and water-born pathogen, Salmonella typhimurium...

In silico modeling and investigation of self-heating effects in composite nano cantilever biosensors with integrated piezoresistors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ribu Mathew

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Over the years, piezoresistive nano cantilever sensors have been extensively investigated for various biological sensing applications. Piezoresistive cantilever sensor is a composite structure with different materials constituting its various layers. Design and modeling of such sensors become challenging since their response is governed by the interplay between their geometrical and constituent material parameters. Even though, piezoresistive nano cantilever biosensors have several advantages, they suffer from a limitation in the form of self-heating induced inaccuracy which is seldom considered in design stages. Although, a few simplified mathematical models have been reported which incorporate the self-heating effect, several assumptions made in the modeling stages result in inaccuracy in predicting sensor terminal response. In this paper, we model and investigate the effect of self-heating on the thermo-electro-mechanical response of piezoresistive cantilever sensors as a function of the relative geometries of the piezoresistor and the cantilever platform. Finite element method (FEM based numerical computations are used to model the target-receptor interactions induced surface stress response in steady state and maximize the electrical sensitivity to thermal sensitivity ratio of the sensor. Simulation results show that the conduction mode of heat transfer is the dominant heat transfer mechanism. Furthermore, the isolation and immobilization layers play a critical role in determining the thermal sensitivity of the sensor. It is found that the shorter and wider cantilever platforms are more suitable to reduce self-heating induced inaccuracies. In addition, results depict that the piezoresistor width plays a more dominant role in determining the thermal drift induced inaccuracies compared to the piezoresistor length. It is found that for surface stress sensors at large piezoresistor width, the electrical sensitivity to thermal sensitivity ratio

Study on a hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on horseradish peroxidase/GNPs-thionine/chitosan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang Xiaobin; Pang Guangchang; Liang Xinyi; Wang Meng; Liu Jing; Zhu Weiming

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Glutaraldehyde was used as the bridge linking agent to covalently bonded thionine in chitosan, which is more stable and could effectively prevalent leakage of the electronic mediator. ► The effect of GNPs adsorbed HRP was first accurately characterized by bio-layer interferometry using the ForteBio Octer system. ► The application of self-assembly technology increases the biosensor stability. - Abstract: A novel hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on horseradish peroxidase/GNPs-thionine/chitosan has been developed. Gold nanoparticles fixed with horseradish peroxidase were adsorbed on glassy carbon electrode by the chitosan which cross-linked with the electron mediator of horseradish peroxidase as the bridge linking agent. The assembly procedures were monitored by UV–visible spectral scanning, bio-layer interferometry, cyclic voltammetric and alternating current impedance. The chronoamperometry was used to measure hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide biosensor linear range of detection is 1 × 10 −7 –1 × 10 −4 mol/L, detection limit up to 5.0 × 10 −8 mol/L. Moreover the stability, reproducibility and selectivity of the biosensor were also studied and the results confirmed that the biosensor exhibit fast response to hydrogen peroxide and possess high sensitivity, good reproducibility and long-term stability.

Self-Assembly Carbon Nanotubes on Cantilever Biosensor for Sensitivity Enhancement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Johnny H [Institute of Microelectronics, 11 Science Park Road, Science Park II, Singapore 117685 (Singapore); Sun Shaoqing [Institute of Microelectronics, 11 Science Park Road, Science Park II, Singapore 117685 (Singapore); Ye Jianshan [Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543 (Singapore); Lim, T M [Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543 (Singapore)

2006-04-01

In recent years, highly sensitive and selective as well as cost-effective sensing and detection of biomolecules (e.g. virus, bacterial, DNA and protein) by MEMS/NEMS (Micro- /Nano Electro- Mechanical-System) structures have attracted extensive attention for its importance in clinical diagnostics, treatment, and various genome projects. Meanwhile, Substantial research efforts have been spent on the improvement of sensitivity of bioMEMS structures. Among a variety of methods that have been investigated, surface modification by nanoparticles (NPs) turns out to be an attractive way, which provides a platform for the enhancement of the sensitivity for biosensor devices. However, conventional applications for surface modification were mostly implemented on microelectrodes. Thus, in this paper, we demonstrate a new approach for surface enhancement on Au-coated silicon microcantilevers in micro-/nano-system. By self-assembly surface binding of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the Au monolayer on top of the Si microcantilever surfaces, much larger surface area could be created for bio-molecular binding (such as antibodies or single DNA strands, which act as probes to capture target molecules). Therefore, this could enable specific interactions and selective binding to target biomolecules with a very low sample size, which greatly increases the sensitivity of detection. It should be noted that functionalization of MWCNTs with terminal carboxylic functionalities (in DCC solution) onto the Au surfaces of Si microchips have been introduced in our study. Further applications of MWCNTs functionalization are worth exploring in biomolecular detection for their exceptional mechanical and unique electronic properties. The successful binding of MWCNTs was testified as shown obviously on AFM image.

Anomalous giant piezoresistance in AlAs 2D electron systems with antidot lattices.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunawan, O; Gokmen, T; Shkolnikov, Y P; De Poortere, E P; Shayegan, M

2008-01-25

An AlAs two-dimensional electron system patterned with an antidot lattice exhibits a giant piezoresistance effect at low temperatures, with a sign opposite to the piezoresistance observed in the unpatterned region. We suggest that the origin of this anomalous giant piezoresistance is the nonuniform strain in the antidot lattice and the exclusion of electrons occupying the two conduction-band valleys from different regions of the sample. This is analogous to the well-known giant magnetoresistance effect, with valley playing the role of spin and strain the role of magnetic field.

Polymer nanocomposite nanomechanical cantilever sensors: material characterization, device development and application in explosive vapour detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seena, V; Fernandes, Avil; Ramgopal Rao, V; Pant, Prita; Mukherji, Soumyo

2011-01-01

This paper reports an optimized and highly sensitive piezoresistive SU-8 nanocomposite microcantilever sensor and its application for detection of explosives in vapour phase. The optimization has been in improving its electrical, mechanical and transduction characteristics. We have achieved a better dispersion of carbon black (CB) in the SU-8/CB nanocomposite piezoresistor and arrived at an optimal range of 8-9 vol% CB concentration by performing a systematic mechanical and electrical characterization of polymer nanocomposites. Mechanical characterization of SU-8/CB nanocomposite thin films was performed using the nanoindentation technique with an appropriate substrate effect analysis. Piezoresistive microcantilevers having an optimum carbon black concentration were fabricated using a design aimed at surface stress measurements with reduced fabrication process complexity. The optimal range of 8-9 vol% CB concentration has resulted in an improved sensitivity, low device variability and low noise level. The resonant frequency and spring constant of the microcantilever were found to be 22 kHz and 0.4 N m -1 respectively. The devices exhibited a surface stress sensitivity of 7.6 ppm (mN m -1 ) -1 and the noise characterization results support their suitability for biochemical sensing applications. This paper also reports the ability of the sensor in detecting TNT vapour concentration down to less than six parts per billion with a sensitivity of 1 mV/ppb.

Polymer nanocomposite nanomechanical cantilever sensors: material characterization, device development and application in explosive vapour detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seena, V; Fernandes, Avil; Ramgopal Rao, V [Centre for Excellence in Nanoelectronics, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India); Pant, Prita [Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India); Mukherji, Soumyo, E-mail: seenapradeep@iitb.ac.in, E-mail: rrao@ee.iitb.ac.in [Department of Biosciences and Bio-engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

2011-07-22

This paper reports an optimized and highly sensitive piezoresistive SU-8 nanocomposite microcantilever sensor and its application for detection of explosives in vapour phase. The optimization has been in improving its electrical, mechanical and transduction characteristics. We have achieved a better dispersion of carbon black (CB) in the SU-8/CB nanocomposite piezoresistor and arrived at an optimal range of 8-9 vol% CB concentration by performing a systematic mechanical and electrical characterization of polymer nanocomposites. Mechanical characterization of SU-8/CB nanocomposite thin films was performed using the nanoindentation technique with an appropriate substrate effect analysis. Piezoresistive microcantilevers having an optimum carbon black concentration were fabricated using a design aimed at surface stress measurements with reduced fabrication process complexity. The optimal range of 8-9 vol% CB concentration has resulted in an improved sensitivity, low device variability and low noise level. The resonant frequency and spring constant of the microcantilever were found to be 22 kHz and 0.4 N m{sup -1} respectively. The devices exhibited a surface stress sensitivity of 7.6 ppm (mN m{sup -1}){sup -1} and the noise characterization results support their suitability for biochemical sensing applications. This paper also reports the ability of the sensor in detecting TNT vapour concentration down to less than six parts per billion with a sensitivity of 1 mV/ppb.

Polymer nanocomposite nanomechanical cantilever sensors: material characterization, device development and application in explosive vapour detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Seena, V; Fernandes, Avil; Pant, Prita; Mukherji, Soumyo; Rao, V Ramgopal

2011-07-22

This paper reports an optimized and highly sensitive piezoresistive SU-8 nanocomposite microcantilever sensor and its application for detection of explosives in vapour phase. The optimization has been in improving its electrical, mechanical and transduction characteristics. We have achieved a better dispersion of carbon black (CB) in the SU-8/CB nanocomposite piezoresistor and arrived at an optimal range of 8-9 vol% CB concentration by performing a systematic mechanical and electrical characterization of polymer nanocomposites. Mechanical characterization of SU-8/CB nanocomposite thin films was performed using the nanoindentation technique with an appropriate substrate effect analysis. Piezoresistive microcantilevers having an optimum carbon black concentration were fabricated using a design aimed at surface stress measurements with reduced fabrication process complexity. The optimal range of 8-9 vol% CB concentration has resulted in an improved sensitivity, low device variability and low noise level. The resonant frequency and spring constant of the microcantilever were found to be 22 kHz and 0.4 N m(-1) respectively. The devices exhibited a surface stress sensitivity of 7.6 ppm (mN m(-1))(-1) and the noise characterization results support their suitability for biochemical sensing applications. This paper also reports the ability of the sensor in detecting TNT vapour concentration down to less than six parts per billion with a sensitivity of 1 mV/ppb.

A numerical investigation on piezoresistive behaviour of carbon nanotube/polymer composites: mechanism and optimizing principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhifeng; Ye Xiongying

2013-01-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) filled polymeric composites can be used as a kind of flexible piezoresistive material in potentially many fields. Due to the diversity of CNTs and polymers, the mechanism and features of their piezoresistive behaviour is still not fully understood. This paper reports our investigations into the mechanism and optimization of piezoresistive CNT/polymer composites. Numerical simulation results showed that the junction resistances between CNTs are a major component of the network conductance of the composite as well as the piezoresistive behaviour. Average junction gap variation (AJGV) was introduced as a quantitative description of the conductance variation of a CNT network caused by strain and the conductance variation of the CNT network was found to be dominated by AJGV. Numerical simulation and analytical results indicated that the key parameters affecting AJGV include the orientation and diameter of CNTs, Poisson’s ratio of the polymer, and the concentration of CNTs in the polymer matrix. An optimizing principle was then given for piezoresistive CNT/polymer composites. (paper)

A Review on Surface Stress-Based Miniaturized Piezoresistive SU-8 Polymeric Cantilever Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Mathew, Ribu; Ravi Sankar, A.

2018-06-01

In the last decade, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) SU-8 polymeric cantilevers with piezoresistive readout combined with the advances in molecular recognition techniques have found versatile applications, especially in the field of chemical and biological sensing. Compared to conventional solid-state semiconductor-based piezoresistive cantilever sensors, SU-8 polymeric cantilevers have advantages in terms of better sensitivity along with reduced material and fabrication cost. In recent times, numerous researchers have investigated their potential as a sensing platform due to high performance-to-cost ratio of SU-8 polymer-based cantilever sensors. In this article, we critically review the design, fabrication, and performance aspects of surface stress-based piezoresistive SU-8 polymeric cantilever sensors. The evolution of surface stress-based piezoresistive cantilever sensors from solid-state semiconductor materials to polymers, especially SU-8 polymer, is discussed in detail. Theoretical principles of surface stress generation and their application in cantilever sensing technology are also devised. Variants of SU-8 polymeric cantilevers with different composition of materials in cantilever stacks are explained. Furthermore, the interdependence of the material selection, geometrical design parameters, and fabrication process of piezoresistive SU-8 polymeric cantilever sensors and their cumulative impact on the sensor response are also explained in detail. In addition to the design-, fabrication-, and performance-related factors, this article also describes various challenges in engineering SU-8 polymeric cantilevers as a universal sensing platform such as temperature and moisture vulnerability. This review article would serve as a guideline for researchers to understand specifics and functionality of surface stress-based piezoresistive SU-8 cantilever sensors.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Piezoresistivity in films of nanocrystalline manganites.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarkar, Jayanta; Raychaudhuri, A K

2007-06-01

Rare earth manganites having perovskite structure are susceptible to lattice strain. So far most investigations have been done with hydrostatic pressure or biaxial strain. We have observed that hole doped rare-earth manganites, which are known to display colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) also show change in its resistance under the influence of uniaxial strain. We report the direct measurement of piezoresistive response of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 (LCMO) and La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) of this manganite family. The measurements were carried out on nanostructured polycrystalline films of LCMO and LSMO grown on oxidized Si(100) substrates. The piezoresistance was measured by bending the Si cantilevers (on which the film is grown) in flexural mode both with compressive and tensile strain. At room temperature the gauge factor approximately 10-20 and it increases to a large value near metal-insulator transition temperature (Tp) where the resistivity shows a peak.

Sensitive detection of nanomechanical motion using piezoresistive signal downmixing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bargatin, I.; Myers, E.B.; Arlett, J.; Gudlewski, B.; Roukes, M.L.

2005-01-01

We have developed a method of measuring rf-range resonance properties of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) with integrated piezoresistive strain detectors serving as signal downmixers. The technique takes advantage of the high strain sensitivity of semiconductor-based piezoresistors, while overcoming the problem of rf signal attenuation due to a high source impedance. Our technique also greatly reduces the effect of the cross-talk between the detector and actuator circuits. We achieve thermomechanical noise detection of cantilever resonance modes up to 71 MHz at room temperature, demonstrating that downmixed piezoresistive signal detection is a viable high-sensitivity method of displacement detection in high-frequency NEMS

Design, simulation and analysis of piezoresistive MEMS pressure sensor for fast reactor applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patankar, Mahesh Kumar; Murali, N.; Satya Murty, S.A.V.; Kalyana Rao, K.; Sridhar, S.

2013-01-01

To exploit the extraordinary benefits of MEMS technology in fast reactor domain, a piezoresistive MEMS pressure sensor was designed, simulated and analyzed using Intellisuite Software to measure the RCB air pressure in 0 - 1.25 bar (a) range. For sensing the pressure, a thin square silicon diaphragm of size of 800 x 800 μm 2 with thickness of 20 μm was optimized using FEM analysis and to transfer the mechanical stress, induce in the diaphragm due to pressure, into electrical output voltage signal, a set of piezoresistors were arranged on top side of the diaphragm in full active wheatstone bridge configuration for obtaining the higher sensitivity. The simulation results were compared with the analytical results which were found in line of expectations and electrical sensitivity was obtained at 15 mV/V.bar. (author)

Nanomechanical detection of cholera toxin using microcantilevers functionalized with ganglioside nanodiscs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tark, Soo-Hyun; Dravid, Vinayak P [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Das, Aditi; Sligar, Stephen, E-mail: s-sligar@illinois.edu, E-mail: v-dravid@northwestern.edu [Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

2010-10-29

The label-free detection of cholera toxin is demonstrated using microcantilevers functionalized with ganglioside nanodiscs. The cholera toxin molecules bind specifically to the active membrane protein encased in nanodiscs, nanoscale lipid bilayers surrounded by an amphipathic protein belt, immobilized on the cantilever surface. The specific molecular binding results in cantilever deflection via the formation of a surface stress-induced bending moment. The nanomechanical cantilever response is quantitatively monitored by optical interference. The consistent and reproducible nanomechanical detection of cholera toxin in nanomolar range concentrations is demonstrated. The results validated with such a model system suggest that the combination of a microcantilever platform with receptor nanodiscs is a promising approach for monitoring invasive pathogens and other types of biomolecular detection relevant to drug discovery.

Nanomechanical detection of cholera toxin using microcantilevers functionalized with ganglioside nanodiscs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tark, Soo-Hyun; Dravid, Vinayak P; Das, Aditi; Sligar, Stephen

2010-01-01

The label-free detection of cholera toxin is demonstrated using microcantilevers functionalized with ganglioside nanodiscs. The cholera toxin molecules bind specifically to the active membrane protein encased in nanodiscs, nanoscale lipid bilayers surrounded by an amphipathic protein belt, immobilized on the cantilever surface. The specific molecular binding results in cantilever deflection via the formation of a surface stress-induced bending moment. The nanomechanical cantilever response is quantitatively monitored by optical interference. The consistent and reproducible nanomechanical detection of cholera toxin in nanomolar range concentrations is demonstrated. The results validated with such a model system suggest that the combination of a microcantilever platform with receptor nanodiscs is a promising approach for monitoring invasive pathogens and other types of biomolecular detection relevant to drug discovery.

Investigation of adsorption and absorption-induced stresses using microcantilever sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Zhiyu; Thundat, T.; Warmack, R. J.

2001-01-01

The interaction between a vapor and a thin film adsorbed on one side of a bimaterial microcantilever produces differential stress, resulting in readily measurable curvatures of the cantilever structure. Depending upon the system studied, there exist two types of gas - solid interaction: bulk-like absorption and surface-like adsorption. The absorption of hydrogen into palladium results in film expansion whose magnitude is governed by hydrogen partial pressure. The bending of a bimaterial microcantilever (palladium/silicon) due to hydrogen absorption depends on the thickness of the palladium film and is reversible but rate limited by a surface barrier. In contrast, the stress induced by adsorption of mercury onto a bimaterial (gold/silicon) cantilever is irreversible at room temperature, is rate limited by surface coverage, and is independent of the gold - film thickness. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

Determination of Young's modulus of epoxy coated polyethylene micro-cantilever using phase-shift shadow moiré method

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, J. H.; Ratnam, M. M.; Azid, I. A.; Mutharasu, D.

2011-11-01

Young's moduli of various epoxy coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) micro-cantilevers were determined from the deflection results obtained using the phase-shift shadow moiré (PSSM) method. The filler materials for epoxy coatings were aluminum and graphite powders that were mixed with epoxy at various percentages. Young's moduli were calculated from theory based on the deflection results. The PET micro-cantilever coated with aluminum-epoxy coating showed increasing value of Young's modulus when the ratios of the aluminum-epoxy were increased. The graphite-epoxy coating on the PET micro-cantilever also showed the same trend. The experimental results also show that Young's modulus of the graphite-epoxy coating is higher than aluminum-epoxy coating in comparison at the same mixing ratio.

Micromachined piezoresistive inclinometer with oscillator-based integrated interface circuit and temperature readout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalola, Simone; Ferrari, Vittorio; Marioli, Daniele

2012-01-01

In this paper a dual-chip system for inclination measurement is presented. It consists of a MEMS (microelectromechanical system) piezoresistive accelerometer manufactured in silicon bulk micromachining and a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) interface designed for resistive-bridge sensors. The sensor is composed of a seismic mass symmetrically suspended by means of four flexure beams that integrate two piezoresistors each to detect the applied static acceleration, which is related to inclination with respect to the gravity vector. The ASIC interface is based on a relaxation oscillator where the frequency and the duty cycle of a rectangular-wave output signal are related to the fractional bridge imbalance and the overall bridge resistance of the sensor, respectively. The latter is a function of temperature; therefore the sensing element itself can be advantageously used to derive information for its own thermal compensation. DC current excitation of the sensor makes the configuration unaffected by wire resistances and parasitic capacitances. Therefore, a modular system results where the sensor can be placed remotely from the electronics without suffering accuracy degradation. The inclination measurement system has been characterized as a function of the applied inclination angle at different temperatures. At room temperature, the experimental sensitivity of the system results in about 148 Hz/g, which corresponds to an angular sensitivity around zero inclination angle of about 2.58 Hz deg −1 . This is in agreement with finite element method simulations. The measured output fluctuations at constant temperature determine an equivalent resolution of about 0.1° at midrange. In the temperature range of 25–65 °C the system sensitivity decreases by about 10%, which is less than the variation due to the microsensor alone thanks to thermal compensation provided by the current excitation of the bridge and the

Rational Design Approach for Enhancing Higher-Mode Response of a Microcantilever in Vibro-Impacting Mode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ieva Migliniene

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes an approach for designing an efficient vibration energy harvester based on a vibro-impacting piezoelectric microcantilever with a geometric shape that has been rationally modified in accordance with results of dynamic optimization. The design goal is to increase the amplitudes of higher-order vibration modes induced during the vibro-impact response of the piezoelectric transducer, thereby providing a means to improve the energy conversion efficiency and power output. A rational configuration of the energy harvester is proposed and it is demonstrated that the new design retains essential modal characteristics of the optimal microcantilever structures, further providing the added benefit of less costly fabrication. The effects of structural dynamics associated with advantageous exploitation of higher vibration modes are analyzed experimentally by means of laser vibrometry as well as numerically via transient simulations of microcantilever response to random excitation. Electrical characterization results indicate that the proposed harvester outperforms its conventional counterpart (based on the microcantilever of the constant cross-section in terms of generated electrical output. Reported results may serve for the development of impact-type micropower generators with harvesting performance that is enhanced by virtue of self-excitation of large intensity higher-order mode responses when the piezoelectric transducer is subjected to relatively low-frequency excitation with strongly variable vibration magnitudes.

Microcantilever technology for law enforcement and anti-terrorism applications: chemical, biological, and explosive material detection

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, J. D.; Rogers, B.; Whitten, R.

2005-05-01

The remarkable sensitivity, compactness, low cost, low power-consumption, scalability, and versatility of microcantilever sensors make this technology among the most promising solutions for detection of chemical and biological agents, as well as explosives. The University of Nevada, Reno, and Nevada Nanotech Systems, Inc (NNTS) are currently developing a microcantilever-based detection system that will measure trace concentrations of explosives, toxic chemicals, and biological agents in air. A baseline sensor unit design that includes the sensor array, electronics, power supply and air handling has been created and preliminary demonstrations of the microcantilever platform have been conducted. The envisioned device would measure about two cubic inches, run on a small watch battery and cost a few hundred dollars. The device could be operated by untrained law enforcement personnel. Microcantilever-based devices could be used to "sniff out" illegal and/or hazardous chemical and biological agents in high traffic public areas, or be packaged as a compact, low-power system used to monitor cargo in shipping containers. Among the best detectors for such applications at present is the dog, an animal which is expensive, requires significant training and can only be made to work for limited time periods. The public is already accustomed to explosives and metal detection systems in airports and other public venues, making the integration of the proposed device into such security protocols straightforward.

A closed-loop system for frequency tracking of piezoresistive cantilever sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Wasisto, Hutomo Suryo; Zhang, Qing; Merzsch, Stephan; Waag, Andreas; Peiner, Erwin

2013-05-01

A closed loop circuit capable of tracking resonant frequencies for MEMS-based piezoresistive cantilever resonators is developed in this work. The proposed closed-loop system is mainly based on a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit. In order to lock onto the resonant frequency of the resonator, an actuation signal generated from a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is locked to the phase of the input reference signal of the cantilever sensor. In addition to the PLL component, an instrumentation amplifier and an active low pass filter (LPF) are connected to the system for gaining the amplitude and reducing the noise of the cantilever output signals. The LPF can transform a rectangular signal into a sinusoidal signal with voltage amplitudes ranging from 5 to 10 V which are sufficient for a piezoactuator input (i.e., maintaining a large output signal of the cantilever sensor). To demonstrate the functionality of the system, a self-sensing silicon cantilever resonator with a built-in piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge is fabricated and integrated with the circuit. A piezoactuator is utilized for actuating the cantilever into resonance. Implementation of this closed loop system is used to track the resonant frequency of a silicon cantilever-based sensor resonating at 9.4 kHz under a cross-sensitivity test of ambient temperature. The changes of the resonant frequency are interpreted using a frequency counter connected to the system. From the experimental results, the temperature sensitivity and coefficient of the employed sensor are 0.3 Hz/°C and 32.8 ppm/°C, respectively. The frequency stability of the system can reach up to 0.08 Hz. The development of this system will enable real-time nanoparticle monitoring systems and provide a miniaturization of the instrumentation modules for cantilever-based nanoparticle detectors.

Modeling of mesoscale dispersion effect on the piezoresistivity of carbon nanotube-polymer nanocomposites via 3D computational multiscale micromechanics methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren, Xiang; Seidel, Gary D; Chaurasia, Adarsh K; Oliva-Avilés, Andrés I; Ku-Herrera, José J; Avilés, Francis

2015-01-01

In uniaxial tension and compression experiments, carbon nanotube (CNT)-polymer nanocomposites have demonstrated exceptional mechanical and coupled electrostatic properties in the form of piezoresistivity. In order to better understand the correlation of the piezoresistive response with the CNT dispersion at the mesoscale, a 3D computational multiscale micromechanics model based on finite element analysis is constructed to predict the effective macroscale piezoresistive response of CNT/polymer nanocomposites. The key factors that may contribute to the overall piezoresistive response, i.e. the nanoscale electrical tunneling effect, the inherent CNT piezoresistivity and the CNT mesoscale network effect are incorporated in the model based on a 3D multiscale mechanical–electrostatic coupled code. The results not only explain how different nanoscale mechanisms influence the overall macroscale piezoresistive response through the mesoscale CNT network, but also give reason and provide bounds for the wide range of gauge factors found in the literature offering insight regarding how control of the mesoscale CNT networks can be used to tailor nanocomposite piezoresistive response. (paper)

Engineering nanomaterials-based biosensors for food safety detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Man; Liu, Yang; Geng, Jinhui; Kou, Xiaohong; Xin, Zhihong; Yang, Dayong

2018-05-30

Food safety always remains a grand global challenge to human health, especially in developing countries. To solve food safety pertained problems, numerous strategies have been developed to detect biological and chemical contaminants in food. Among these approaches, nanomaterials-based biosensors provide opportunity to realize rapid, sensitive, efficient and portable detection, overcoming the restrictions and limitations of traditional methods such as complicated sample pretreatment, long detection time, and relying on expensive instruments and well-trained personnel. In this review article, we provide a cross-disciplinary perspective to review the progress of nanomaterials-based biosensors for the detection of food contaminants. The review article is organized by the category of food contaminants including pathogens/toxins, heavy metals, pesticides, veterinary drugs and illegal additives. In each category of food contaminant, the biosensing strategies are summarized including optical, colorimetric, fluorescent, electrochemical, and immune- biosensors; the relevant analytes, nanomaterials and biosensors are analyzed comprehensively. Future perspectives and challenges are also discussed briefly. We envision that our review could bridge the gap between the fields of food science and nanotechnology, providing implications for the scientists or engineers in both areas to collaborate and promote the development of nanomaterials-based biosensors for food safety detection. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Piezoresistive PEDOT:PSS Pressure Sensors with Inter-Digitated and Cross-Point Electrode Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jer-Chyi Wang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The piezoresistive characteristics of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene:polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS pressure sensors with inter-digitated (IDE and cross-point electrode (CPE structures have been investigated. A small variation of the resistance of the pressure sensors with IDE without bottom indium-tin-oxide (b-ITO film and with CPE structures was observed owing to the single carrier-conducting pathway. For the IDE pressure sensors with b-ITO, the piezoresistive characteristics at low and high pressure were similar to those of the pressure sensors with IDE without b-ITO and with CPE structures, respectively, leading to increased piezoresistive pressure sensitivity as the PEDOT:PSS film thickness decreased. A maximum sensitivity of more than 42 kΩ/Pa was achieved. When the normal pressure was applied, the increased number of conducting points or the reduced distance between the PEDOT oligomers within the PEDOT:PSS film resulted in a decrease of the resistance. The piezoresistive pressure sensors with a single carrier-conducting pathway, i.e., IDE without b-ITO and CPE structures, exhibited a small relaxation time and a superior reversible operation, which can be advantageous for fast piezoresistive response applications.

Characterization of piezoresistive PEDOT:PSS pressure sensors with inter-digitated and cross-point electrode structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jer-Chyi; Karmakar, Rajat Subhra; Lu, Yu-Jen; Huang, Chiung-Yin; Wei, Kuo-Chen

2015-01-05

The piezoresistive characteristics of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) pressure sensors with inter-digitated (IDE) and cross-point electrode (CPE) structures have been investigated. A small variation of the resistance of the pressure sensors with IDE without bottom indium-tin-oxide (b-ITO) film and with CPE structures was observed owing to the single carrier-conducting pathway. For the IDE pressure sensors with b-ITO, the piezoresistive characteristics at low and high pressure were similar to those of the pressure sensors with IDE without b-ITO and with CPE structures, respectively, leading to increased piezoresistive pressure sensitivity as the PEDOT:PSS film thickness decreased. A maximum sensitivity of more than 42 kΩ/Pa was achieved. When the normal pressure was applied, the increased number of conducting points or the reduced distance between the PEDOT oligomers within the PEDOT:PSS film resulted in a decrease of the resistance. The piezoresistive pressure sensors with a single carrier-conducting pathway, i.e., IDE without b-ITO and CPE structures, exhibited a small relaxation time and a superior reversible operation, which can be advantageous for fast piezoresistive response applications.

Nanocomposite-Based Microstructured Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors for Low-Pressure Measurement Range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasileios Mitrakos

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Piezoresistive pressure sensors capable of detecting ranges of low compressive stresses have been successfully fabricated and characterised. The 5.5 × 5 × 1.6 mm3 sensors consist of a planar aluminium top electrode and a microstructured bottom electrode containing a two-by-two array of truncated pyramids with a piezoresistive composite layer sandwiched in-between. The responses of two different piezocomposite materials, a Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT-elastomer composite and a Quantum Tunneling Composite (QTC, have been characterised as a function of applied pressure and effective contact area. The MWCNT piezoresistive composite-based sensor was able to detect pressures as low as 200 kPa. The QTC-based sensor was capable of detecting pressures as low as 50 kPa depending on the contact area of the bottom electrode. Such sensors could find useful applications requiring the detection of small compressive loads such as those encountered in haptic sensing or robotics.

Magnetic molecule on a microcantilever: quantum magnetomechanical oscillations.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaafar, Reem; Chudnovsky, E M

2009-06-05

We study the quantum dynamics of a system consisting of a magnetic molecule placed on a microcantilever. The amplitude and frequencies of the coupled magnetomechanical oscillations are computed. Parameter-free theory shows that the existing experimental techniques permit observation of the driven coupled oscillations of the spin and the cantilever, as well as of the splitting of the mechanical modes of the cantilever caused by spin tunneling.

Contribution of current carrier mobility variation to piezo-resistive effect in SmS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasil'ev, L.N.; Kaminskij, V.V.

1999-01-01

The value of the contribution from the change in the current carriers mobility and pressure to the piezo-resistive effect value in the materials on the basis of the samarium, monosulfide is studied. The conclusion, that the value of the piezoresistance of comprehensive compression should not exceed 7x10 -3 MPa -1 at T=300 K, experimental data [ru

Quantitative Alpha Fetoprotein Detection with a Piezoelectric Microcantilever Mass Sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sang Kyu; Cho, Jong Yun; Jeon, Sang Min; Cha, Hyung Joon; Moon, Won Kyu [Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Yeol Ho [Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2011-10-15

Alpha fetoprotein(AFP), which is serological marker for hepatocellular carcinoma, was quantitatively measured by its normal concentration, 10 ng/ml, with a label-free piezoelectric microcantilever mass sensor. The principle of detection is based on changes in the resonant frequency of the piezoelectric microcantilever before and after target molecules are attached to it, and its resonant frequency is measured electrically using a conductance spectrum. The resonant frequency of the developed sensor is approximately 1.34 MHz and the mass sensitivity is approximately 175 Hz/pg. The sensor has high reliability as mass sensor by reducing the effect of surface stress on resonant frequency due to attached proteins. 'Dip and dry' technique was used to react the sensor with reagents for immobilizing AFP antibody on the sensor and detecting AFP antigen. The measured mass of the detected AFP antigen was 6.02 pg at the concentration of 10 ng/ml, and 10.67 pg at 50 ng/ml when the immunoreaction time was 10 min.

Quantitative Alpha Fetoprotein Detection with a Piezoelectric Microcantilever Mass Sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Kyu; Cho, Jong Yun; Jeon, Sang Min; Cha, Hyung Joon; Moon, Won Kyu; Lee, Yeol Ho

2011-01-01

Alpha fetoprotein(AFP), which is serological marker for hepatocellular carcinoma, was quantitatively measured by its normal concentration, 10 ng/ml, with a label-free piezoelectric microcantilever mass sensor. The principle of detection is based on changes in the resonant frequency of the piezoelectric microcantilever before and after target molecules are attached to it, and its resonant frequency is measured electrically using a conductance spectrum. The resonant frequency of the developed sensor is approximately 1.34 MHz and the mass sensitivity is approximately 175 Hz/pg. The sensor has high reliability as mass sensor by reducing the effect of surface stress on resonant frequency due to attached proteins. 'Dip and dry' technique was used to react the sensor with reagents for immobilizing AFP antibody on the sensor and detecting AFP antigen. The measured mass of the detected AFP antigen was 6.02 pg at the concentration of 10 ng/ml, and 10.67 pg at 50 ng/ml when the immunoreaction time was 10 min

Calibration of optical cantilever deflection readers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Zhiyu; Seeley, Tim; Kossek, Sebastian; Thundat, Thomas

2004-01-01

Because of its ultrahigh sensitivity, the optical lever detection method similar to that used in the atomic force microscope (AFM) has been widely employed as a standard technique for measuring microcantilever deflection. Along with the increasing interest in using the microcantilever as a sensing platform, there is also a requirement for a reliable calibration technique. Many researchers have used the concept of optical lever detection to construct microcantilever deflection readout instruments for chemical, physical, and biological detection. However, without an AFM piezo z scanner, it is very difficult to precisely calibrate these instruments. Here, we present a step-by-step method to conveniently calibrate an instrument using commercially available piezoresistive cantilevers. The experimental results closely match the theoretical calculation. Following this procedure, one can easily calibrate any optical cantilever deflection detection system with high reproducibility, precision, and reliability. A detailed discussion of the optical lever readout system design has been addressed in this article

Piezoresistive effect in top-down fabricated silicon nanowires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reck, Kasper; Richter, Jacob; Hansen, Ole

2008-01-01

We have designed and fabricated silicon test chips to investigate the piezoresistive properties of both crystalline and polycrystalline nanowires using a top-down approach, in order to comply with conventional fabrication techniques. The test chip consists of 5 silicon nanowires and a reference...

Design and fabrication of a GaAs/Al0.4Ga0.6As micro-accelerometer based on piezoresistive effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Guowen; Zhang Binzhen; Zhang Kairui

2009-01-01

In this paper, a novel piezoresistive accelerometer based on the piezoresistive effect of GaAs/Al 0.4 Ga 0.6 As thin films was designed. The piezoresistive accelerometer contains four suspended flexural beams and a central proof mass configuration. The piezoresistive effect of a piezoresistor or thin film was used to make a resistor changing the output that is proportional to applied acceleration. The GaAs-based piezoresistive accelerometer was prepared with advanced surface micromachining processes, and bulk micromachining processes. Finally, the static pressure experiments were conducted on the sensing element. The experimental results showed that the combined semiconductor heterostructures and mechanical cantilevers have a good stress sensitive characteristic. The integration of these technologies promises to bring about a revolution in the applications of the semiconductor fine-structure devices.

A Micromachined Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor with a Shield Layer

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Gang; Wang, Xiaoping; Xu, Yong; Liu, Sheng

2016-01-01

This paper presents a piezoresistive pressure sensor with a shield layer for improved stability. Compared with the conventional piezoresistive pressure sensors, the new one reported in this paper has an n-type shield layer that covers p-type piezoresistors. This shield layer aims to minimize the impact of electrical field and reduce the temperature sensitivity of piezoresistors. The proposed sensors have been successfully fabricated by bulk-micromachining techniques. A sensitivity of 0.022 mV/V/kPa and a maximum non-linearity of 0.085% FS are obtained in a pressure range of 1 MPa. After numerical simulation, the role of the shield layer has been experimentally investigated. It is demonstrated that the shield layer is able to reduce the drift caused by electrical field and ambient temperature variation. PMID:27529254

Hydrogel-based piezoresistive sensor for the detection of ethanol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Erfkamp

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This article describes a low-cost sensor for the detection of ethanol in alcoholic beverages, which combines alcohol-sensitive hydrogels based on acrylamide and bisacrylamide and piezoresistive sensors. For reproducible measurements, the reversible swelling and deswelling of the hydrogel were shown via microscopy. The response time of the sensor depends on the swelling kinetics of the hydrogel. The selectivity of the hydrogel was tested in different alcohols. In order to understand the influence of monomer and crosslinker content on the swelling degree and on the sensitivity of the hydrogels, gels with variable concentrations of acrylamide and bisacrylamide were synthesized and characterized in different aqueous solutions with alcohol contents. The first measurements of such hydrogel-based piezoresistive ethanol sensors demonstrated a high sensitivity and a short response time over several measuring cycles.

A new approach to integrate PLZT thin films with micro-cantilevers

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Sadhana; Volume 34; Issue 4. A new approach to integrate PLZT thin films with micro-cantilevers ... Different types of cantilever beams incorporating PLZT films have been successfully fabricated using 'lift-off' process and bulk micromachining technology. The proposed process can be advantageously ...

Two Dimensional Array of Piezoresistive Nanomechanical Membrane-Type Surface Stress Sensor (MSS with Improved Sensitivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nico F. de Rooij

2012-11-01

Full Text Available We present a new generation of piezoresistive nanomechanical Membrane-type Surface stress Sensor (MSS chips, which consist of a two dimensional array of MSS on a single chip. The implementation of several optimization techniques in the design and microfabrication improved the piezoresistive sensitivity by 3~4 times compared to the first generation MSS chip, resulting in a sensitivity about ~100 times better than a standard cantilever-type sensor and a few times better than optical read-out methods in terms of experimental signal-to-noise ratio. Since the integrated piezoresistive read-out of the MSS can meet practical requirements, such as compactness and not requiring bulky and expensive peripheral devices, the MSS is a promising transducer for nanomechanical sensing in the rapidly growing application fields in medicine, biology, security, and the environment. Specifically, its system compactness due to the integrated piezoresistive sensing makes the MSS concept attractive for the instruments used in mobile applications. In addition, the MSS can operate in opaque liquids, such as blood, where optical read-out techniques cannot be applied.

A Novel Piezoresistive Accelerometer with SPBs to Improve the Tradeoff between the Sensitivity and the Resonant Frequency.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yu; Zhao, Libo; Jiang, Zhuangde; Ding, Jianjun; Peng, Niancai; Zhao, Yulong

2016-02-06

For improving the tradeoff between the sensitivity and the resonant frequency of piezoresistive accelerometers, the dependency between the stress of the piezoresistor and the displacement of the structure is taken into consideration in this paper. In order to weaken the dependency, a novel structure with suspended piezoresistive beams (SPBs) is designed, and a theoretical model is established for calculating the location of SPBs, the stress of SPBs and the resonant frequency of the whole structure. Finite element method (FEM) simulations, comparative simulations and experiments are carried out to verify the good agreement with the theoretical model. It is demonstrated that increasing the sensitivity greatly without sacrificing the resonant frequency is possible in the piezoresistive accelerometer design. Therefore, the proposed structure with SPBs is potentially a novel option for improving the tradeoff between the sensitivity and the resonant frequency of piezoresistive accelerometers.

Wheatstone bridge giant-magnetoresistance based cell counter.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chiun-Peng; Lai, Mei-Feng; Huang, Hao-Ting; Lin, Chi-Wen; Wei, Zung-Hang

2014-07-15

A Wheatstone bridge giant magnetoresistance (GMR) biosensor was proposed here for the detection and counting of magnetic cells. The biosensor was made of a top-pinned spin-valve layer structure, and it was integrated with a microchannel possessing the function of hydrodynamic focusing that allowed the cells to flow in series one by one and ensured the accuracy of detection. Through measuring the magnetoresistance variation caused by the stray field of the magnetic cells that flowed through the microchannel above the GMR biosensor, we can not only detect and count the cells but we can also recognize cells with different magnetic moments. In addition, a magnetic field gradient was applied for the separation of different cells into different channels. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

〈c + a〉 Dislocations in deformed Ti–6Al–4V micro-cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Rengen; Gong, Jicheng; Wilkinson, Angus J.; Jones, Ian P.

2014-01-01

Single α–β colony micro-cantilevers with an equilateral triangular cross-section and an apex at the bottom were machined from a polycrystalline commercial Ti–6Al–4V sample using a focused ion beam (FIB). Each cantilever contained several α lamellae separated by thin fillets of β. A nano-indenter was used to perform micro-bending tests (Ding et al., 2012) [1]. 〈c + a〉 Slip systems were selectively activated in the cantilevers by controlling the crystal direction along the micro-cantilever to be [0 0 0 1]. Specimens for transmission electron microscopy were prepared from the deformed micro-cantilevers using a dual-beam FIB. Bright field scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the processes of slip nucleation, propagation and transmission through the α/β interface. Dislocations initiate first near the bottom of the cantilever and subsequently from the top. Both sets of dislocations move inward toward the neutral axis. Planar pyramidal {101 ¯ 1} slip was observed at the top (tension) but cross-slip was observed at the bottom (compression). All the 〈c + a〉 slip systems are equally stressed, but only a limited number is activated. This is tentatively interpreted in terms of dislocation transmission through the β fillets

Piezoresistive effect observed in flexible amorphous carbon films

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, B.; Jiang, Y. C.; Zhao, R.; Liu, G. Z.; He, A. P.; Gao, J.

2018-05-01

Amorphous carbon (a-C) films, deposited on Si substrates at 500 °C, were transferred onto flexible polyethylene (PE) substrates by a lift-off method, which overcomes the limit of deposition temperature. After transferring, a-C films exhibited a large piezoresistive effect. Such flexible samples could detect the change of bending angle by attaching them onto Cu foils. The ratio of the bending and non-bending resistances reaches as large as ~27.8, which indicates a potential application as a pressure sensor. Also, the a-C/PE sample revealed an enhanced sensitivity to gas pressure compared with the a-C/Si one. By controlling the bending angle, the sensitivity range can be tuned to shift to a low- or high-pressure region. The fatigue test shows a less than 1% change in resistance after 10 000 bending cycles. Our work provides a route to prepare the flexible and piezoresistive carbon-based devices with high sensitivity, controllable pressure-sensing and high stability.

A Novel Piezoresistive Accelerometer with SPBs to Improve the Tradeoff between the Sensitivity and the Resonant Frequency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Xu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available For improving the tradeoff between the sensitivity and the resonant frequency of piezoresistive accelerometers, the dependency between the stress of the piezoresistor and the displacement of the structure is taken into consideration in this paper. In order to weaken the dependency, a novel structure with suspended piezoresistive beams (SPBs is designed, and a theoretical model is established for calculating the location of SPBs, the stress of SPBs and the resonant frequency of the whole structure. Finite element method (FEM simulations, comparative simulations and experiments are carried out to verify the good agreement with the theoretical model. It is demonstrated that increasing the sensitivity greatly without sacrificing the resonant frequency is possible in the piezoresistive accelerometer design. Therefore, the proposed structure with SPBs is potentially a novel option for improving the tradeoff between the sensitivity and the resonant frequency of piezoresistive accelerometers.

Computational micromechanics analysis of electron hopping and interfacial damage induced piezoresistive response in carbon nanotube-polymer nanocomposites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaurasia, A K; Seidel, G D; Ren, X

2014-01-01

Carbon nanotube (CNT)-polymer nanocomposites have been observed to exhibit an effective macroscale piezoresistive response, i.e., change in macroscale resistivity when subjected to applied deformation. The macroscale piezoresistive response of CNT-polymer nanocomposites leads to deformation/strain sensing capabilities. It is believed that the nanoscale phenomenon of electron hopping is the major driving force behind the observed macroscale piezoresistivity of such nanocomposites. Additionally, CNT-polymer nanocomposites provide damage sensing capabilities because of local changes in electron hopping pathways at the nanoscale because of initiation/evolution of damage. The primary focus of the current work is to explore the effect of interfacial separation and damage at the nanoscale CNT-polymer interface on the effective macroscale piezoresistive response. Interfacial separation and damage are allowed to evolve at the CNT-polymer interface through coupled electromechanical cohesive zones, within a finite element based computational micromechanics framework, resulting in electron hopping based current density across the separated CNT-polymer interface. The macroscale effective material properties and gauge factors are evaluated using micromechanics techniques based on electrostatic energy equivalence. The impact of the electron hopping mechanism, nanoscale interface separation and damage evolution on the effective nanocomposite electrostatic and piezoresistive response is studied in comparison with the perfectly bonded interface. The effective electrostatic/piezoresistive response for the perfectly bonded interface is obtained based on a computational micromechanics model developed in the authors’ earlier work. It is observed that the macroscale effective gauge factors are highly sensitive to strain induced formation/disruption of electron hopping pathways, interface separation and the initiation/evolution of interfacial damage. (paper)

Tailoring the mechanical properties of SU-8/clay nanocomposites: polymer microcantilever fabrication perspective

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Chen, H

2014-03-01

Full Text Available SU-8/Clay nanocomposite is considered as a candidate material for microcantilever sensor fabrication. Organically modified montmorillonite clay nanoparticles are dispersed in the universally used negative photoresist polymer SU-8, for a low cost...

Non-monotonic piezoresistive behaviour of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP-polymer composite flexible films prepared by solvent casting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Makireddi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Graphene-polymer nanocomposite films show good piezoresistive behaviour and it is reported that the sensitivity increases either with the increased sheet resistance or decreased number density of the graphene fillers. A little is known about this behaviour near the percolation region. In this study, graphene nanoplatelet (GNP/poly (methyl methacrylate (PMMA flexible films are fabricated via solution casting process at varying weight percent of GNP. Electrical and piezoresistive behaviour of these films is studied as a function of GNP concentration. Piezoresistive strain sensitivity of the films is measured by affixing the film to an aluminium specimen which is subjected to monotonic uniaxial tensile load. The change in resistance of the film with strain is monitored using a four probe. An electrical percolation threshold at 3 weight percent of GNP is observed. We report non-monotonic piezoresistive behaviour of these films as a function GNP concentration. We observe an increase in gauge factor (GF with unstrained resistance of the films up to a critical resistance corresponding to percolation threshold. Beyond this limit the GF decreases with unstrained resistance.

Optical and Microcantilever-Based Sensors for Real-Time In Situ Characterization of High-Level Waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, Gilbert M.; Bryan, Samuel

2002-01-01

Fundamental research is being conducted to develop sensors for strontium that can be used in real-time to characterize high-level waste (HLW) process streams. Two fundamentally different approaches are being pursued, which have in common the dependence on highly selective molecular recognition agents. In one approach, an array of chemically selective sensors with sensitive fluorescent probes to signal the presence of the constituent of interest are coupled to fiber optics for remote analytical applications. The second approach employs sensitive microcantilever sensors that have been demonstrated to have unprecedented sensitivity in solution for Cs+ and CrO4 -. Selectivity in microcantilever-based sensors is achieved by modifying the surface of a gold-coated cantilever with a monolayer coating of an alkanethiol derivative of the molecular recognition agent. The approaches are complementary since fiber optic sensors can be deployed in the highly alkaline environment of HLW, bu t a method of immobilizing a fluorescent molecular recognition agents in a polymer film or bead on the surface of the optical fiber has yet to be demonstrated. The microcantilever-based sensors function by converting molecular complexation into surface stress, and they have been demonstrated to have the requisite sensitivity. However, we will investigate method of protecting Si or SiN microcantilever sensors in the highly alkaline environment of HLW while maintaining high selectivity. One objective of this project is to develop Sr(II) molecular recognition agents with rapidly established equilibria needed for real-time analysis, and initial research will focus on calixarene-crown ethers as a platform. Sensors for alkali metal ions, hydroxide, and temperature will be part of the array of sensor elements that will be demonstrated in this program for both the cantilever and fiber optic sensor approaches

Design and fabrication of a GaAs/Al{sub 0.4}Ga{sub 0.6}As micro-accelerometer based on piezoresistive effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Guowen; Zhang Binzhen; Zhang Kairui [National Key Laboratory for Electronic Measurement Technology, North University of China Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030051 (China)], E-mail: jacky.mucklow@iop.org

2009-03-01

In this paper, a novel piezoresistive accelerometer based on the piezoresistive effect of GaAs/Al{sub 0.4}Ga{sub 0.6}As thin films was designed. The piezoresistive accelerometer contains four suspended flexural beams and a central proof mass configuration. The piezoresistive effect of a piezoresistor or thin film was used to make a resistor changing the output that is proportional to applied acceleration. The GaAs-based piezoresistive accelerometer was prepared with advanced surface micromachining processes, and bulk micromachining processes. Finally, the static pressure experiments were conducted on the sensing element. The experimental results showed that the combined semiconductor heterostructures and mechanical cantilevers have a good stress sensitive characteristic. The integration of these technologies promises to bring about a revolution in the applications of the semiconductor fine-structure devices.

Self-sensing piezoresistive cement composite loaded with carbon black particles

KAUST Repository

Monteiro, André O.; Cachim, Paulo B.; Da Costa, Pedro M. F. J.

2017-01-01

Strain sensors can be embedded in civil engineering infrastructures to perform real-time service life monitoring. Here, the sensing capability of piezoresistive cement-based composites loaded with carbon black (CB) particles is investigated. Several

Sensitive detection of plastic explosives with self-assembled monolayer-coated microcantilevers

Science.gov (United States)

Pinnaduwage, L. A.; Boiadjiev, V.; Hawk, J. E.; Thundat, T.

2003-08-01

We report the detection of 10-30 parts-per-trillion levels of pentaerythritol tetranitrate and hexahydro-1,3,5-triazine within 20 s of exposure to a silicon microcantilever with its gold surface modified with a self-assembled monolayer of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid. These measurements correspond to a limit of detection of a few fg.

Dynamic thermomechanical response of bimaterial microcantilevers to periodic heating by infrared radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Beomjin; Rosenberger, Matthew; Bhargava, Rohit; Cahill, David G; King, William P

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the dynamic thermomechanical response of bimaterial microcantilevers to periodic heating by an infrared laser operating at a wavelenegth of 10.35 μm. A model relates incident radiation, heat transfer, temperature distribution in the cantilever, and thermal expansion mismatch to find the cantilever displacement. Experiments were conducted on two custom-fabricated bimaterial cantilevers and two commercially available bimaterial microcantilevers. The cantilever response was measured as a function of the modulation frequency of the laser over the range of 0.01-30 kHz. The model and the method of cantilever displacement calibration can be applied for bimaterial cantilever with thick coating layer. The sensitivity and signal-to-noise of bimaterial cantilevers were evaluated in terms of either total incident power or incident flux. The custom-fabricated bimaterial cantilevers showed 9X or 190X sensitivity improvement compared to commercial cantilevers. The detection limit on incident flux is as small as 0.10 pW μm(-2) Hz(-1/2).

Label-free DNA biosensor based on resistance change of platinum nanoparticles assemblies.

Science.gov (United States)

Skotadis, Evangelos; Voutyras, Konstantinos; Chatzipetrou, Marianneza; Tsekenis, Georgios; Patsiouras, Lampros; Madianos, Leonidas; Chatzandroulis, Stavros; Zergioti, Ioanna; Tsoukalas, Dimitris

2016-07-15

A novel nanoparticle based biosensor for the fast and simple detection of DNA hybridization events is presented. The sensor utilizes hybridized DNA's charge transport properties, combining them with metallic nanoparticle networks that act as nano-gapped electrodes. The DNA hybridization events can be detected by a significant reduction in the sensor's resistance due to the conductive bridging offered by hybridized DNA. By modifying the nanoparticle surface coverage, which can be controlled experimentally being a function of deposition time, and the structural properties of the electrodes, an optimized biosensor for the in situ detection of DNA hybridization events is ultimately fabricated. The fabricated biosensor exhibits a wide response range, covering four orders of magnitude, a limit of detection of 1nM and can detect a single base pair mismatch between probe and complementary DNA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Damborský, Pavel; Švitel, Juraj; Katrlík, Jaroslav

2016-06-30

Optical biosensors represent the most common type of biosensor. Here we provide a brief classification, a description of underlying principles of operation and their bioanalytical applications. The main focus is placed on the most widely used optical biosensors which are surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensors including SPR imaging and localized SPR. In addition, other optical biosensor systems are described, such as evanescent wave fluorescence and bioluminescent optical fibre biosensors, as well as interferometric, ellipsometric and reflectometric interference spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering biosensors. The optical biosensors discussed here allow the sensitive and selective detection of a wide range of analytes including viruses, toxins, drugs, antibodies, tumour biomarkers and tumour cells. © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Construction of a Piezoresistive Neural Sensor Array

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, W. B.; Schulze, W. A.; Pilgrim, P. M.

1996-01-01

The construction of a piezoresistive - piezoelectric sensor (or actuator) array is proposed using 'neural' connectivity for signal recognition and possible actuation functions. A closer integration of the sensor and decision functions is necessary in order to achieve intrinsic identification within the sensor. A neural sensor is the next logical step in development of truly 'intelligent' arrays. This proposal will integrate 1-3 polymer piezoresistors and MLC electroceramic devices for applications involving acoustic identification. The 'intelligent' piezoresistor -piezoelectric system incorporates printed resistors, composite resistors, and a feedback for the resetting of resistances. A model of a design is proposed in order to simulate electromechanical resistor interactions. The goal of optimizing a sensor geometry for improving device reliability, training, & signal identification capabilities is the goal of this work. At present, studies predict performance of a 'smart' device with a significant control of 'effective' compliance over a narrow pressure range due to a piezoresistor percolation threshold. An interesting possibility may be to use an array of control elements to shift the threshold function in order to change the level of resistance in a neural sensor array for identification, or, actuation applications. The proposed design employs elements of: (1) conductor loaded polymers for a 'fast' RC time constant response; and (2) multilayer ceramics for actuation or sensing and shifting of resistance in the polymer. Other material possibilities also exist using magnetoresistive layered systems for shifting the resistance. It is proposed to use a neural net configuration to test and to help study the possible changes required in the materials design of these devices. Numerical design models utilize electromechanical elements, in conjunction with structural elements in order to simulate piezoresistively controlled actuators and changes in resistance of sensors

Linear and Non-Linear Piezoresistance Coefficients in Cubic Semiconductors. I. Theoretical Formulations

Science.gov (United States)

Durand, S.; Tellier, C. R.

1996-02-01

This paper constitutes the first part of a work devoted to applications of piezoresistance effects in germanium and silicon semiconductors. In this part, emphasis is placed on a formal explanation of non-linear effects. We propose a brief phenomenological description based on the multi-valleys model of semiconductors before to adopt a macroscopic tensorial model from which general analytical expressions for primed non-linear piezoresistance coefficients are derived. Graphical representations of linear and non-linear piezoresistance coefficients allows us to characterize the influence of the two angles of cut and of directions of alignment. The second part will primarily deal with specific applications for piezoresistive sensors. Cette publication constitue la première partie d'un travail consacré aux applications des effets piézorésistifs dans les semiconducteurs germanium et silicium. Cette partie traite essentiellement de la modélisation des effets non-linéaires. Après une description phénoménologique à partir du modèle de bande des semiconducteurs nous développons un modèle tensoriel macroscopique et nous proposons des équations générales analytiques exprimant les coefficients piézorésistifs non-linéaires dans des repères tournés. Des représentations graphiques des variations des coefficients piézorésistifs linéaires et non-linéaires permettent une pré-caractérisation de l'influence des angles de coupes et des directions d'alignement avant l'étude d'applications spécifiques qui feront l'objet de la deuxième partie.

Piezoresistive pressure sensor array for robotic skin

Science.gov (United States)

Mirza, Fahad; Sahasrabuddhe, Ritvij R.; Baptist, Joshua R.; Wijesundara, Muthu B. J.; Lee, Woo H.; Popa, Dan O.

2016-05-01

Robots are starting to transition from the confines of the manufacturing floor to homes, schools, hospitals, and highly dynamic environments. As, a result, it is impossible to foresee all the probable operational situations of robots, and preprogram the robot behavior in those situations. Among human-robot interaction technologies, haptic communication is an intuitive physical interaction method that can help define operational behaviors for robots cooperating with humans. Multimodal robotic skin with distributed sensors can help robots increase perception capabilities of their surrounding environments. Electro-Hydro-Dynamic (EHD) printing is a flexible multi-modal sensor fabrication method because of its direct printing capability of a wide range of materials onto substrates with non-uniform topographies. In past work we designed interdigitated comb electrodes as a sensing element and printed piezoresistive strain sensors using customized EHD printable PEDOT:PSS based inks. We formulated a PEDOT:PSS derivative ink, by mixing PEDOT:PSS and DMSO. Bending induced characterization tests of prototyped sensors showed high sensitivity and sufficient stability. In this paper, we describe SkinCells, robot skin sensor arrays integrated with electronic modules. 4x4 EHD-printed arrays of strain sensors was packaged onto Kapton sheets and silicone encapsulant and interconnected to a custom electronic module that consists of a microcontroller, Wheatstone bridge with adjustable digital potentiometer, multiplexer, and serial communication unit. Thus, SkinCell's electronics can be used for signal acquisition, conditioning, and networking between sensor modules. Several SkinCells were loaded with controlled pressure, temperature and humidity testing apparatuses, and testing results are reported in this paper.

Characterization of Piezoresistive PEDOT:PSS Pressure Sensors with Inter-Digitated and Cross-Point Electrode Structures

OpenAIRE

Wang, Jer-Chyi; Karmakar, Rajat; Lu, Yu-Jen; Huang, Chiung-Yin; Wei, Kuo-Chen

2015-01-01

The piezoresistive characteristics of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) pressure sensors with inter-digitated (IDE) and cross-point electrode (CPE) structures have been investigated. A small variation of the resistance of the pressure sensors with IDE without bottom indium-tin-oxide (b-ITO) film and with CPE structures was observed owing to the single carrier-conducting pathway. For the IDE pressure sensors with b-ITO, the piezoresistive characteristics at low...

High-bandwidth piezoresistive force probes with integrated thermal actuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doll, Joseph C; Pruitt, Beth L

2012-01-01

We present high-speed force probes with on-chip actuation and sensing for the measurement of pN-scale forces at the microsecond timescale. We achieve a high resonant frequency in water (1–100 kHz) with requisite low spring constants (0.3–40 pN nm −1 ) and low integrated force noise (1–100 pN) by targeting probe dimensions on the order of 300 nm thick, 1–2 μm wide and 30–200 μm long. Forces are measured using silicon piezoresistors, while the probes are actuated thermally with an aluminum unimorph and silicon heater. The piezoresistive sensors are designed using the open-source numerical optimization code that incorporates constraints on operating temperature. Parylene passivation enables operation in ionic media and we demonstrate simultaneous actuation and sensing. The improved design and fabrication techniques that we describe enable a 10–20-fold improvement in force resolution or measurement bandwidth over prior piezoresistive cantilevers of comparable thickness. (paper)

High bandwidth piezoresistive force probes with integrated thermal actuation

Science.gov (United States)

Doll, Joseph C.; Pruitt, Beth L.

2012-01-01

We present high-speed force probes with on-chip actuation and sensing for the measurement of pN-scale forces at the microsecond time scale. We achieve a high resonant frequency in water (1–100 kHz) with requisite low spring constants (0.3–40 pN/nm) and low integrated force noise (1–100 pN) by targeting probe dimensions on the order of 300 nm thick, 1–2 μm wide and 30–200 μm long. Forces are measured using silicon piezoresistors while the probes are actuated thermally with an aluminum unimorph and silicon heater. The piezoresistive sensors are designed using open source numerical optimization code that incorporates constraints on operating temperature. Parylene passivation enables operation in ionic media and we demonstrate simultaneous actuation and sensing. The improved design and fabrication techniques that we describe enable a 10–20 fold improvement in force resolution or measurement bandwidth over prior piezoresistive cantilevers of comparable thickness. PMID:23175616

Superconducting inductive displacement detection of a microcantilever

Science.gov (United States)

Vinante, A.

2014-07-01

We demonstrate a superconducting inductive technique to measure the displacement of a micromechanical resonator. In our scheme, a type I superconducting microsphere is attached to the free end of a microcantilever and approached to the loop of a dc Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) microsusceptometer. A local magnetic field as low as 100 μT, generated by a field coil concentric to the SQUID, enables detection of the cantilever thermomechanical noise at 4.2 K. The magnetomechanical coupling and the magnetic spring are in good agreement with image method calculations assuming pure Meissner effect. These measurements are relevant to recent proposals of quantum magnetomechanics experiments based on levitating superconducting microparticles.

Ultrasensitive Detection of Cu2+ Using a Microcantilever Sensor Modified with L-Cysteine Self-Assembled Monolayer.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xiaohe; Zhang, Na; Brown, Gilbert M; Thundat, Thomas G; Ji, Hai-Feng

2017-10-01

A microcantilever was modified with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of L-cysteine for the sensitively and selectively response to Cu(II) ions in aqueous solution. The microcantilever undergoes bending due to sorption of Cu(II) ions. The interaction of Cu(II) ions with the L-cysteine on the cantilever is diffusion controlled and does not follow a simple Langmuir adsorption model. A concentration of 10 -10  M Cu(II) was detected in a fluid cell using this technology. Other cations, such as Ni 2+ , Zn 2+ , Pb 2+ , Cd 2+ , Ca 2+ , K + , and Na + , did not respond with a significant deflection, indicating that this L-cysteine-modified cantilever responded selectively and sensitively to Cu(II).

Giant piezoresistance of p-type nano-thick silicon induced by interface electron trapping instead of 2D quantum confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Yongliang; Li Xinxin

2011-01-01

The p-type silicon giant piezoresistive coefficient is measured in top-down fabricated nano-thickness single-crystalline-silicon strain-gauge resistors with a macro-cantilever bending experiment. For relatively thicker samples, the variation of piezoresistive coefficient in terms of silicon thickness obeys the reported 2D quantum confinement effect. For ultra-thin samples, however, the variation deviates from the quantum-effect prediction but increases the value by at least one order of magnitude (compared to the conventional piezoresistance of bulk silicon) and the value can change its sign (e.g. from positive to negative). A stress-enhanced Si/SiO 2 interface electron-trapping effect model is proposed to explain the 'abnormal' giant piezoresistance that should be originated from the carrier-concentration change effect instead of the conventional equivalent mobility change effect for bulk silicon piezoresistors. An interface state modification experiment gives preliminary proof of our analysis.

Design of air blast pressure sensors based on miniature silicon membrane and piezoresistive gauges

Science.gov (United States)

Riondet, J.; Coustou, A.; Aubert, H.; Pons, P.; Lavayssière, M.; Luc, J.; Lefrançois, A.

2017-11-01

Available commercial piezoelectric pressure sensors are not able to accurately reproduce the ultra-fast transient pressure occurring during an air blast experiment. In this communication a new pressure sensor prototype based on a miniature silicon membrane and piezoresistive gauges is reported for significantly improving the performances in terms of time response. Simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of a pressure transducer having a fundamental resonant frequency almost ten times greater than the commercial piezoelectric sensors one. The sensor uses a 5μm-thick SOI membrane and four P-type silicon gauges (doping level ≅ 1019 at/cm3) in Wheatstone bridge configuration. To obtain a good trade-off between the fundamental mechanical resonant frequency and pressure sensitivity values, the typical dimension of the rectangular membrane is fixed to 30μm x 90μm with gauge dimension of 1μm x 5μm. The achieved simulated mechanical resonant frequency of these configuration is greater than 40MHz with a sensitivity of 0.04% per bar.

A fatigue test method for Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films by using MEMS-based self-sensitive piezoelectric microcantilevers

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, T.; Maeda, R.; Itoh, T.

2008-11-01

In the present study, we propose a new method for the fatigue test of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films for MEMS devices by using self-sensitive piezoelectric microcantilevers developed in our previous study. We have deposited PZT thin films on SOI wafers and fabricated the microcantilevers through the MEMS microfabrication process. In the self-sensitive piezoelectric microcantilevers, the PZT thin films are separated in order to act as an actuator and a sensor. The fatigue characteristic of the PZT thin films can be evaluated by measuring the output voltage of the sensor as a function of time. When a sine wave of 20 Vpp and a dc bias of 10 V were applied to the PZT thin films for an actuator, the output voltage of the sensor fell down after 107 fatigue cycles. We have also investigated the influence of amplitude of the actuation sine wave and dc bias on the fatigue of the PZT thin films by using the proposed fatigue test method.

A fatigue test method for Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films by using MEMS-based self-sensitive piezoelectric microcantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, T; Maeda, R; Itoh, T

2008-01-01

In the present study, we propose a new method for the fatigue test of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films for MEMS devices by using self-sensitive piezoelectric microcantilevers developed in our previous study. We have deposited PZT thin films on SOI wafers and fabricated the microcantilevers through the MEMS microfabrication process. In the self-sensitive piezoelectric microcantilevers, the PZT thin films are separated in order to act as an actuator and a sensor. The fatigue characteristic of the PZT thin films can be evaluated by measuring the output voltage of the sensor as a function of time. When a sine wave of 20 V pp and a dc bias of 10 V were applied to the PZT thin films for an actuator, the output voltage of the sensor fell down after 10 7 fatigue cycles. We have also investigated the influence of amplitude of the actuation sine wave and dc bias on the fatigue of the PZT thin films by using the proposed fatigue test method

Prototyping of a highly performant and integrated piezoresistive force sensor for microscale applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komati, Bilal; Agnus, Joël; Clévy, Cédric; Lutz, Philippe

2014-01-01

In this paper, the prototyping of a new piezoresistive microforce sensor is presented. An original design taking advantage of both the mechanical and bulk piezoresistive properties of silicon is presented, which enables the easy fabrication of a very small, large-range, high-sensitivity with high integration potential sensor. The sensor is made of two silicon strain gauges for which widespread and known microfabrication processes are used. The strain gauges present a high gauge factor which allows a good sensitivity of this force sensor. The dimensions of this sensor are 700 μm in length, 100 μm in width and 12 μm in thickness. These dimensions make its use convenient with many microscale applications, notably its integration in a microgripper. The fabricated sensor is calibrated using an industrial force sensor. The design, microfabrication process and performances of the fabricated piezoresistive force sensor are innovative thanks to its resolution of 100 nN and its measurement range of 2 mN. This force sensor also presents a high signal-to-noise ratio, typically 50 dB when a 2 mN force is applied at the tip of the force sensor. (paper)

Fiber Optic Microcantilever Sensor Coupled with Reactive Polymers for Vapor Phase Detection of Ammonia, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Luna Innovations proposes to adapt its current aqueous-based, fiber-optic microcantilever sensor technology for real-time, monitoring of ammonia in air. Phase I...

The Application of a Piezo-Resistive Cardiorespiratory Sensor System in an Automobile Safety Belt

Science.gov (United States)

Hamdani, Syed Talha Ali; Fernando, Anura

2015-01-01

Respiratory and heart failure are conditions that can occur with little warning and may also be difficult to predict. Therefore continuous monitoring of these bio-signals is advantageous for ensuring human health. The car safety belt is mainly designed to secure the occupants of the vehicle in the event of an accident. In the current research a prototype safety belt is developed, which is used to acquire respiratory and heart signals, under laboratory conditions. The current safety belt is constructed using a copper ink based nonwoven material, which works based on the piezo-resistive effect due to the pressure exerted on the sensor as a result of expansion of the thorax/abdomen area of the body for respiration and due to the principle of ballistocardiography (BCG) in heart signal sensing. In this research, the development of a theoretical model to qualitatively describe the piezo-resistive material is also presented in order to predict the relative change in the resistance of the piezo-resistive material due to the pressure applied. PMID:25831088

Design and Fabrication of Piezoresistive Based Encapsulated Poly-Si Cantilevers for Bio/chemical Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Krishna, N. P. Vamsi; Murthy, T. R. Srinivasa; Reddy, K. Jayaprakash; Sangeeth, K.; Hegde, G. M.

Cantilever-based sensing is a growing research field not only within micro regime but also in nano technology. The technology offers a method for rapid, on-line and in-situ monitoring of specific bio/chemical substances by detecting the nanomechanical responses of a cantilever sensor. Cantilever with piezoresistive based detection scheme is more attractive because of its electronics compatibility. Majority of commercially available micromachined piezoresistive sensors are bulk micromachined devices and are fabricated using single crystal silicon wafers. As substrate properties are not important in surface micromachining, the expensive silicon wafers can be replaced by cheaper substrates, such as poly-silicon, glass or plastic. Here we have designed SU-8 based bio/chemical compatible micro electro mechanical device that includes an encapsulated polysilicon piezoresistor for bio/chemical sensing. In this paper we report the design, fabrication and analysis of the encapsulated poly-Si cantilevers. Design and theoretical analysis are carried out using Finite Element Analysis software. For fabrication of poly-silicon piezoresistive cantilevers we followed the surface micromachining process steps. Preliminary characterization of the cantilevers is presented.

The application of a piezo-resistive cardiorespiratory sensor system in an automobile safety belt.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamdani, Syed Talha Ali; Fernando, Anura

2015-03-30

Respiratory and heart failure are conditions that can occur with little warning and may also be difficult to predict. Therefore continuous monitoring of these bio-signals is advantageous for ensuring human health. The car safety belt is mainly designed to secure the occupants of the vehicle in the event of an accident. In the current research a prototype safety belt is developed, which is used to acquire respiratory and heart signals, under laboratory conditions. The current safety belt is constructed using a copper ink based nonwoven material, which works based on the piezo-resistive effect due to the pressure exerted on the sensor as a result of expansion of the thorax/abdomen area of the body for respiration and due to the principle of ballistocardiography (BCG) in heart signal sensing. In this research, the development of a theoretical model to qualitatively describe the piezo-resistive material is also presented in order to predict the relative change in the resistance of the piezo-resistive material due to the pressure applied.

The Application of a Piezo-Resistive Cardiorespiratory Sensor System in an Automobile Safety Belt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syed Talha Ali Hamdani

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Respiratory and heart failure are conditions that can occur with little warning and may also be difficult to predict. Therefore continuous monitoring of these bio-signals is advantageous for ensuring human health. The car safety belt is mainly designed to secure the occupants of the vehicle in the event of an accident. In the current research a prototype safety belt is developed, which is used to acquire respiratory and heart signals, under laboratory conditions. The current safety belt is constructed using a copper ink based nonwoven material, which works based on the piezo-resistive effect due to the pressure exerted on the sensor as a result of expansion of the thorax/abdomen area of the body for respiration and due to the principle of ballistocardiography (BCG in heart signal sensing. In this research, the development of a theoretical model to qualitatively describe the piezo-resistive material is also presented in order to predict the relative change in the resistance of the piezo-resistive material due to the pressure applied.

Morphological and chemical optimization of microcantilever surfaces for thyroid system biosensing and beyond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hill, Kasey [University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1600 (United States)], E-mail: klhill2823@yahoo.com; Dutta, Pampa; Zareba, Adelajda; Eldridge, Melanie L. [University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1600 (United States); Sepaniak, Michael J. [University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1600 (United States)], E-mail: msepaniak@utk.edu

2008-09-05

The development of biosensors is vital in many areas of biotechnology and biomedical research. A prominent new class of label-free biosensors are those based on ligand-induced nanomechanical responses of microcantilevers (MCs). The interaction between biologically significant ligands with bioreceptors (e.g., antibodies or nuclear receptor proteins) immobilized on one side of the MC surface causes an apparent surface stress, resulting in static bending of the MC, which can be detected by an optical beam bending technique. The three key performance metrics of sensitivity, selectivity, and reversibility are foci of the work reported herein. The nature of the MC surface and the method by which the bioreceptor is immobilized influence these performance metrics and, hence, optimization studies involving these were conducted. In our work, the gold surface on one side of the MC is first activated via self-assembled monolayer formation with amino ethane thiol (AET) then reacted with glutaraldehyde (GA) as a crosslinker before finally functionalizing with the protein receptor. We report the effect of concentration, reaction time, and pH for these reagents on the magnitude of the nanomechanical responses using an anti-immunoglobulin G (anti-IgG) receptor: IgG ligand test system. By vapor depositing an alloy of silver and gold and then etching away the former, a nanostructured 'dealloyed' MC surface is created that outperforms a smooth gold MC in terms of nanomechanical responses. Optimization of the dealloying parameters (thickness, metal ratio) is also reported herein using the aforementioned anti-IgG-IgG system. Maximum response was obtained with these conditions: 150 nm dealloyed surface, 1 mM aqueous solution of AET-incubation time 1 h, 1% GA solution in 10 mM pH 8 phosphate buffered saline (PBS)-incubation time 3 h, and 0.5 mg mL{sup -1} of receptor protein solution in 10 mM pH 7 PBS-incubation time 1 h. Additionally, surprising results are reported when

Foil Strain Gauges Using Piezoresistive Carbon Nanotube Yarn: Fabrication and Calibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jandro L. Abot

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Carbon nanotube yarns are micron-scale fibers comprised by tens of thousands of carbon nanotubes in their cross section and exhibiting piezoresistive characteristics that can be tapped to sense strain. This paper presents the details of novel foil strain gauge sensor configurations comprising carbon nanotube yarn as the piezoresistive sensing element. The foil strain gauge sensors are designed using the results of parametric studies that maximize the sensitivity of the sensors to mechanical loading. The fabrication details of the strain gauge sensors that exhibit the highest sensitivity, based on the modeling results, are described including the materials and procedures used in the first prototypes. Details of the calibration of the foil strain gauge sensors are also provided and discussed in the context of their electromechanical characterization when bonded to metallic specimens. This characterization included studying their response under monotonic and cyclic mechanical loading. It was shown that these foil strain gauge sensors comprising carbon nanotube yarn are sensitive enough to capture strain and can replicate the loading and unloading cycles. It was also observed that the loading rate affects their piezoresistive response and that the gauge factors were all above one order of magnitude higher than those of typical metallic foil strain gauges. Based on these calibration results on the initial sensor configurations, new foil strain gauge configurations will be designed and fabricated, to increase the strain gauge factors even more.

Foil Strain Gauges Using Piezoresistive Carbon Nanotube Yarn: Fabrication and Calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Góngora-Rubio, Mário R.; Kiyono, César Y.; Mello, Luis A. M.; Cardoso, Valtemar F.; Rosa, Reinaldo L. S.; Kuebler, Derek A.; Brodeur, Grace E.; Alotaibi, Amani H.; Coene, Marisa P.; Coene, Lauren M.; Jean, Elizabeth; Santiago, Rafael C.; Oliveira, Francisco H. A.; Rangel, Ricardo; Thomas, Gilles P.; Belay, Kalayu; da Silva, Luciana W.; Moura, Rafael T.; Seabra, Antonio C.; Silva, Emílio C. N.

2018-01-01

Carbon nanotube yarns are micron-scale fibers comprised by tens of thousands of carbon nanotubes in their cross section and exhibiting piezoresistive characteristics that can be tapped to sense strain. This paper presents the details of novel foil strain gauge sensor configurations comprising carbon nanotube yarn as the piezoresistive sensing element. The foil strain gauge sensors are designed using the results of parametric studies that maximize the sensitivity of the sensors to mechanical loading. The fabrication details of the strain gauge sensors that exhibit the highest sensitivity, based on the modeling results, are described including the materials and procedures used in the first prototypes. Details of the calibration of the foil strain gauge sensors are also provided and discussed in the context of their electromechanical characterization when bonded to metallic specimens. This characterization included studying their response under monotonic and cyclic mechanical loading. It was shown that these foil strain gauge sensors comprising carbon nanotube yarn are sensitive enough to capture strain and can replicate the loading and unloading cycles. It was also observed that the loading rate affects their piezoresistive response and that the gauge factors were all above one order of magnitude higher than those of typical metallic foil strain gauges. Based on these calibration results on the initial sensor configurations, new foil strain gauge configurations will be designed and fabricated, to increase the strain gauge factors even more. PMID:29401745

Highly sensitive piezo-resistive graphite nanoplatelet-carbon nanotube hybrids/polydimethylsilicone composites with improved conductive network construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hang; Bai, Jinbo

2015-05-13

The constructions of internal conductive network are dependent on microstructures of conductive fillers, determining various electrical performances of composites. Here, we present the advanced graphite nanoplatelet-carbon nanotube hybrids/polydimethylsilicone (GCHs/PDMS) composites with high piezo-resistive performance. GCH particles were synthesized by the catalyst chemical vapor deposition approach. The synthesized GCHs can be well dispersed in the matrix through the mechanical blending process. Due to the exfoliated GNP and aligned CNTs coupling structure, the flexible composite shows an ultralow percolation threshold (0.64 vol %) and high piezo-resistive sensitivity (gauge factor ∼ 10(3) and pressure sensitivity ∼ 0.6 kPa(-1)). Slight motions of finger can be detected and distinguished accurately using the composite film as a typical wearable sensor. These results indicate that designing the internal conductive network could be a reasonable strategy to improve the piezo-resistive performance of composites.

Electrical conductivity and piezoresistive response of 3D printed thermoplastic polyurethane/multiwalled carbon nanotube composites

Science.gov (United States)

Hohimer, Cameron J.; Petrossian, Gayaneh; Ameli, Amir; Mo, Changki; Pötschke, Petra

2018-03-01

Additive manufacturing (AM) is an emerging field experiencing rapid growth. This paper presents a feasibility study of using fused-deposition modeling (FDM) techniques with smart materials to fabricate objects with sensing and actuating capabilities. The fabrication of objects with sensing typically requires the integration and assembly of multiple components. Incorporating sensing elements into a single FDM process has the potential to significantly simplify manufacturing. The integration of multiple materials, especially smart materials and those with multi-functional properties, into the FDM process is challenging and still requires further development. Previous works by the authors have demonstrated a good printability of thermoplastic polyurethane/multiwall carbon nanotubes (TPU/MWCNT) while maintaining conductivity and piezoresistive response. This research explores the effects of layer height, nozzle temperature, and bed temperature on the electrical conductivity and piezoresistive response of printed TPU/MWCNT nanocomposites. An impedance analyzer was used to determine the conductivity of printed samples under different printing conditions from 5Hz-13MHz. The samples were then tested under compression loads to measure the piezoresistive response. Results show the conductivity and piezoresistive response are only slightly affected by the print parameters and they can be largely considered independent of the print conditions within the examined ranges of print parameters. This behavior simplifies the printing process design for TPU/MWCNT complex structures. This work demonstrates the possibility of manufacturing embedded and multidirectional flexible strain sensors using an inexpensive and versatile method, with potential applications in soft robotics, flexible electronics, and health monitoring.

Piezoresistivity of mechanically drawn single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin films-: mechanism and optimizing principle

Science.gov (United States)

Obitayo, Waris

The individual carbon nanotube (CNT) based strain sensors have been found to have excellent piezoresistive properties with a reported gauge factor (GF) of up to 3000. This GF on the other hand, has been shown to be structurally dependent on the nanotubes. In contrast, to individual CNT based strain sensors, the ensemble CNT based strain sensors have very low GFs e.g. for a single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin film strain sensor, GF is ~1. As a result, studies which are mostly numerical/analytical have revealed the dependence of piezoresistivity on key parameters like concentration, orientation, length and diameter, aspect ratio, energy barrier height and Poisson ratio of polymer matrix. The fundamental understanding of the piezoresistive mechanism in an ensemble CNT based strain sensor still remains unclear, largely due to discrepancies in the outcomes of these numerical studies. Besides, there have been little or no experimental confirmation of these studies. The goal of my PhD is to study the mechanism and the optimizing principle of a SWCNT thin film strain sensor and provide experimental validation of the numerical/analytical investigations. The dependence of the piezoresistivity on key parameters like orientation, network density, bundle diameter (effective tunneling area), and length is studied, and how one can effectively optimize the piezoresistive behavior of a SWCNT thin film strain sensors. To reach this goal, my first research accomplishment involves the study of orientation of SWCNTs and its effect on the piezoresistivity of mechanically drawn SWCNT thin film based piezoresistive sensors. Using polarized Raman spectroscopy analysis and coupled electrical-mechanical test, a quantitative relationship between the strain sensitivity and SWCNT alignment order parameter was established. As compared to randomly oriented SWCNT thin films, the one with draw ratio of 3.2 exhibited ~6x increase on the GF. My second accomplishment involves studying the

A comprehensive modeling and vibration analysis of AFM microcantilevers subjected to nonlinear tip-sample interaction forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eslami, Sohrab; Jalili, Nader

2012-01-01

Precise and accurate representation of an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) system is essential in studying the effects of boundary interaction forces present between the probe's tip and the sample. In this paper, a comprehensive analytical model for the AFM system utilizing a distributed-parameters based approach is proposed. More specifically, we consider two important attributes of these systems; namely the rotary inertia and shear deformation when compared with the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. Moreover, a comprehensive nonlinear interaction force is assumed between probe's and sample in order to reveal the response of the system more realistically. This nanoscale interaction force is based on a general form consisting of both attractive and repulsive components as well as a function of the tip-sample distance and the microcantilever's base and sample oscillations. Mechanical properties of the sample could interact with the nanomechanical coupling field between the probe' tip and sample and be implemented in studying the composition information of the sample and the ultra-small features inside it. Therefore, by modulating the dynamics of the AFM system such as the driving amplitude of the microcantilever the procedure for the subsurface imaging is described. The presented approach here could be implemented for designing the AFM probes by examining the tip-sample interaction forces dominant by the van der Waals forces. Several numerical case studies are presented and the force–distance diagram reveals that the proposed nonlinear nanomechanical force along with the distributed-parameters model for the microcantilever is able to fulfill the mechanics of the Lennard–Jones potential. -- Highlights: ► We present a comprehensive distributed-parameters model for AFM microcantilever. ► Assuming a nonlinear and implicit interaction force between tip and sample. ► Timoshenko beam is compared with the Euler–Bernoulli having the same force model. ► Frequency

Design and Fabrication of a Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor for Ultra High Temperature Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, L B; Zhao, Y L; Jiang, Z D

2006-01-01

In order to solve the pressure measurement problem in the harsh environment, a piezoresistive pressure sensor has been developed, which can be used under high temperature above 200 deg. C and is able to endure instantaneous ultra high temperature (2000deg. C, duration≤2s) impact. Based on the MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) and integrated circuit technology, the piezoresistive pressure sensor's sensitive element was fabricated and constituted by silicon substrate, a thin buried silicon dioxide layer, four p-type resistors in the measuring circuit layer by boron ion implantation and photolithography, the top SiO2 layer by oxidation, stress matching Si3N4 layer, and a Ti-Pt-Au beam lead layer for connecting p-type resistors by sputtering. In order to decrease the leak-current influence to sensor in high temperature above 200deg. C, the buried SiO2 layer with the thickness 367 nm was fabricated by the SIMOX (Separation by Implantation of Oxygen) technology, which was instead of p-n junction to isolate the upper measuring circuit layer from Si substrate. In order to endure instantaneous ultra high temperature impact, the mechanical structure with cantilever and diaphragm and transmitting beam was designed. By laser welding and high temperature packaging technology, the high temperature piezoresistive pressure sensor was fabricated with range of 120MPa. After the thermal compensation, the sensor's thermal zero drift k 0 and thermal sensitivity drift k s were easy to be less than 3x10 -4 FS/deg. C. The experimental results show that the developed piezoresistive pressure sensor has good performances under high temperature and is able to endure instantaneous ultra high temperature impact, which meets the requirements of modern industry, such as aviation, oil, engine, etc

Low-noise polymeric nanomechanical biosensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Calleja, M.; Tamayo, J.; Nordström, Maria

2006-01-01

A sensor device based on a single polymer cantilever and optical readout has been developed for detection of molecular recognition reactions without the need of a reference cantilever for subtraction of unspecific signals. Microcantilevers have been fabricated in the photoresist SU-8 with one sur...

Small-scale characterisation of irradiated nuclear materials: Part II nanoindentation and micro-cantilever testing of ion irradiated nuclear materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Armstrong, D.E.J., E-mail: david.armstrong@materials.ox.ac.uk [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxdord OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Hardie, C.D. [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxdord OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); EURATOM/CCFE Association, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Gibson, J.S.K.L. [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxdord OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Bushby, A.J. [School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS (United Kingdom); Edmondson, P.D. [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxdord OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Roberts, S.G. [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxdord OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); EURATOM/CCFE Association, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB (United Kingdom)

2015-07-15

This paper demonstrates the ability of advanced micro-mechanical testing methods, based on FIB machined micro-cantilevers, to measure the mechanical properties of ion implanted layers without the influence of underlying unimplanted material. The first section describes a study of iron–12 wt% chromium alloy implanted with iron ions. It is shown that by careful cantilever design and finite element modelling that changes in yield stress after implantation can be measured even with the influence of a strong size effect. The second section describes a study of tungsten implanted with both tungsten ions and tungsten and helium ions using spherical and sharp nanoindentation, and micro-cantilevers. The spherical indentation allows yield properties and work hardening behaviour of the implanted layers to be measured. However the brittle nature of the implanted tungsten is only revealed when using micro-cantilevers. This demonstrates that when applying micro-mechanical methods to ion implanted layers care is needed to understand the nature of size effects, careful modelling of experimental procedure is required and multiple experimental techniques are needed to allow the maximum amount of mechanical behaviour information to be collected.

Small-scale characterisation of irradiated nuclear materials: Part II nanoindentation and micro-cantilever testing of ion irradiated nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armstrong, D.E.J.; Hardie, C.D.; Gibson, J.S.K.L.; Bushby, A.J.; Edmondson, P.D.; Roberts, S.G.

2015-01-01

This paper demonstrates the ability of advanced micro-mechanical testing methods, based on FIB machined micro-cantilevers, to measure the mechanical properties of ion implanted layers without the influence of underlying unimplanted material. The first section describes a study of iron–12 wt% chromium alloy implanted with iron ions. It is shown that by careful cantilever design and finite element modelling that changes in yield stress after implantation can be measured even with the influence of a strong size effect. The second section describes a study of tungsten implanted with both tungsten ions and tungsten and helium ions using spherical and sharp nanoindentation, and micro-cantilevers. The spherical indentation allows yield properties and work hardening behaviour of the implanted layers to be measured. However the brittle nature of the implanted tungsten is only revealed when using micro-cantilevers. This demonstrates that when applying micro-mechanical methods to ion implanted layers care is needed to understand the nature of size effects, careful modelling of experimental procedure is required and multiple experimental techniques are needed to allow the maximum amount of mechanical behaviour information to be collected

Small-scale characterisation of irradiated nuclear materials: Part II nanoindentation and micro-cantilever testing of ion irradiated nuclear materials

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, D. E. J.; Hardie, C. D.; Gibson, J. S. K. L.; Bushby, A. J.; Edmondson, P. D.; Roberts, S. G.

2015-07-01

This paper demonstrates the ability of advanced micro-mechanical testing methods, based on FIB machined micro-cantilevers, to measure the mechanical properties of ion implanted layers without the influence of underlying unimplanted material. The first section describes a study of iron-12 wt% chromium alloy implanted with iron ions. It is shown that by careful cantilever design and finite element modelling that changes in yield stress after implantation can be measured even with the influence of a strong size effect. The second section describes a study of tungsten implanted with both tungsten ions and tungsten and helium ions using spherical and sharp nanoindentation, and micro-cantilevers. The spherical indentation allows yield properties and work hardening behaviour of the implanted layers to be measured. However the brittle nature of the implanted tungsten is only revealed when using micro-cantilevers. This demonstrates that when applying micro-mechanical methods to ion implanted layers care is needed to understand the nature of size effects, careful modelling of experimental procedure is required and multiple experimental techniques are needed to allow the maximum amount of mechanical behaviour information to be collected.

Biosensors and environmental health

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Preedy, Victor R; Patel, Vinood B

2012-01-01

..., bacterial biosensors, antibody-based biosensors, enzymatic, amperometric and electrochemical aspects, quorum sensing, DNA-biosensors, cantilever biosensors, bioluminescence and other methods and applications...

A thermal-driven silicon micro xy-stage integrated with piezoresistive sensors for nano-positioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Young-Soo; Zhang, Yan; Lee, Dong-Weon

2012-01-01

This paper describes a novel micro xy-stage, driven by double-hot arm horizontal thermal micro-actuators integrated with a piezoresistive sensor (PS) for low-voltage operation and precise control. This micro xy-stage structure is linked with chevron beams and optimized to amplify the displacement generated by the micro-actuators that provide a pull force to the movable platform. The PS employed for in situ displacement detection and feedback control is fabricated at the base of a cold arm, which minimizes the influence of temperature change induced by electro-thermal heating. The micro xy-stage structure is defined through the use of a simple micromachining process, released by backside wet etching with a special tool. For an input power of approximately 44 mW, each chevron actuator provides about 16 µm and the total displacement of the platform is close to 32 µm. The sensitivity of the PS is better than 1 mV µm −1 , obtained from the amplified voltage output of the Wheatstone bridge circuit. The potential applications of the proposed micro xy-stage lie in micro- or nano-manipulation, as well as the positioning of ultra-small objects in nanotechnology. (paper)

Biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Rechnitz, Garry A.

1988-01-01

Describes theory and principles behind biosensors that incorporate biological components as part of a sensor or probe. Projects major applications in medicine and veterinary medicine, biotechnology, food and agriculture, environmental studies, and the military. Surveys current use of biosensors. (ML)

Impact of Isolation and Immobilization Layers on the Electro-Mechanical Response of Piezoresistive Nano Cantilever Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathew, Ribu; Sankar, A Ravi

2018-03-01

In the last decade, piezoresistive nano cantilever sensors have been extensively explored, especially for chemical and biological sensing applications. Piezoresistive cantilever sensors are multi-layer structures with different constituent materials. Performance of such sensors is a function of their geometry and constituent materials. For a fixed material set, the pre-requisite for optimizing the performance of a composite piezoresistive cantilever sensor is careful geometrical design of its constituent layers. Even though, treatise encompasses various designs of such sensors, typically for computational simplicity the functional layers i.e., the isolation and immobilization layers are neglected in the modeling stages. In this paper, we elucidate the impact of the functional layers on the electro-mechanical response of composite piezoresistive nano cantilever sensors. Systematic and detailed computations are performed using theoretical models and numerical simulations. Results show that both the isolation and immobilization layers play a critical role in governing the sensor performance. Simulation results depict that compared to a sensor with an isolation layer of thickness 100 nm, a sensor without isolation layer has 36.29% and 42.51% better deflection sensitivity and electrical sensitivity respectively. Furthermore, it is found that when an immobilization layer of thickness 40 nm is added atop the isolation layer, the deflection sensitivity and electrical sensitivity reduces by 12.98% and 15.83% respectively. Through our investigation it is shown that the isolation and immobilization layers not only play a vital role in determining the stability and electro-mechanical response of the sensor but their negligence in the design stages can be detrimental. Apart from investigating the impact of the immobilization layer thickness, to model the sensor closer to real time operational conditions, we have performed analysis to understand the impact of non-uniformity in

Optimization of design parameters for bulk micromachined silicon membranes for piezoresistive pressure sensing application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belwanshi, Vinod; Topkar, Anita

2016-01-01

Finite element analysis study has been carried out to optimize the design parameters for bulk micro-machined silicon membranes for piezoresistive pressure sensing applications. The design is targeted for measurement of pressure up to 200 bar for nuclear reactor applications. The mechanical behavior of bulk micro-machined silicon membranes in terms of deflection and stress generation has been simulated. Based on the simulation results, optimization of the membrane design parameters in terms of length, width and thickness has been carried out. Subsequent to optimization of membrane geometrical parameters, the dimensions and location of the high stress concentration region for implantation of piezoresistors have been obtained for sensing of pressure using piezoresistive sensing technique.

Optimization of design parameters for bulk micromachined silicon membranes for piezoresistive pressure sensing application

Science.gov (United States)

Belwanshi, Vinod; Topkar, Anita

2016-05-01

Finite element analysis study has been carried out to optimize the design parameters for bulk micro-machined silicon membranes for piezoresistive pressure sensing applications. The design is targeted for measurement of pressure up to 200 bar for nuclear reactor applications. The mechanical behavior of bulk micro-machined silicon membranes in terms of deflection and stress generation has been simulated. Based on the simulation results, optimization of the membrane design parameters in terms of length, width and thickness has been carried out. Subsequent to optimization of membrane geometrical parameters, the dimensions and location of the high stress concentration region for implantation of piezoresistors have been obtained for sensing of pressure using piezoresistive sensing technique.

High-throughput automated system for statistical biosensing employing microcantilevers arrays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bosco, Filippo; Chen, Ching H.; Hwu, En T.

2011-01-01

In this paper we present a completely new and fully automated system for parallel microcantilever-based biosensing. Our platform is able to monitor simultaneously the change of resonance frequency (dynamic mode), of deflection (static mode), and of surface roughness of hundreds of cantilevers...... in a very short time over multiple biochemical reactions. We have proven that our system is capable to measure 900 independent microsensors in less than a second. Here, we report statistical biosensing results performed over a haptens-antibody assay, where complete characterization of the biochemical...

Theoretical analysis of surface stress for a microcantilever with varying widths

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Xianfang; Peng Xulong

2008-01-01

A theoretical model of surface stress is developed in this paper for a microcantilever with varying widths, and a method for calculating the surface stress via static deflection, slope angle or radius at curvature of the cantilever beam is presented. This model assumes that surface stresses are uniformly distributed on one surface of the cantilever beam. Based on this stressor model and using the small deformation Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, a fourth-order ordinary differential governing equation with varying coefficients or an equivalent second-order integro-differential equation is derived. A simple approach is then proposed to determine the solution of the resulting equation, and a closed-form approximate solution with high accuracy can be obtained. For rectangular and V-shaped microfabricated cantilevers, the dependences of transverse deflection, slope and curvature of the beam on the surface stresses are given explicitly. The obtained results indicate that the zeroth order approximation of the stressor model reduces to the end force model with a linear curvature for a rectangular cantilever. For larger surface stresses, the curvature exhibits a non-linear behaviour. The predictions through the stressor model give higher accuracy than those from the end moment and end force models and satisfactorily agree with experimental data. The derived closed-form solution can serve as a theoretical benchmark for verifying numerically obtained results for microcantilevers as atomic force microscopy and micromechanical sensors

Simultaneous viscosity and density measurement of small volumes of liquids using a vibrating microcantilever.

Science.gov (United States)

Payam, A F; Trewby, W; Voïtchovsky, K

2017-05-02

Many industrial and technological applications require precise determination of the viscosity and density of liquids. Such measurements can be time consuming and often require sampling substantial amounts of the liquid. These problems can partly be overcome with the use of microcantilevers but most existing methods depend on the specific geometry and properties of the cantilever, which renders simple, accurate measurement difficult. Here we present a new approach able to simultaneously quantify both the density and the viscosity of microliters of liquids. The method, based solely on the measurement of two characteristic frequencies of an immersed microcantilever, is completely independent of the choice of a cantilever. We derive analytical expressions for the liquid's density and viscosity and validate our approach with several simple liquids and different cantilevers. Application of our model to non-Newtonian fluids shows that the calculated viscosities are remarkably robust when compared to measurements obtained from a standard rheometer. However, the results become increasingly dependent on the cantilever geometry as the frequency-dependent nature of the liquid's viscosity becomes more significant.

Surface chemical functionalisation of epoxy photoresist-based microcantilevers with organic-coated TiO2 nanocrystals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ingrosso, C.; Sardella, E.; Keller, S. S.

2012-01-01

In this Letter, a solution-based approach has been used for chemically immobilising oleic acid (OLEA)-capped TiO2 nanocrystals (NCs) on the surface of microcantilevers formed of SU-8, a negative tone epoxy photoresist. The immobilisation has been carried out at room temperature, under visible lig...

Effects of microscale damage evolution on piezoresistive sensing in nanocomposite bonded explosives under dynamic loading via electromechanical peridynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, Naveen; Seidel, Gary D.

2018-01-01

Polymer bonded explosives can sustain microstructural damage due to accidental impact, which may reduce their operational reliability or even cause unwanted ignition leading to detonation of the explosive. Therefore a nanocomposite piezoresistivity based sensing solution is discussed here that employs a carbon nanotube based nanocomposite binder in the explosive material by which in situ real-time sensing can be obtained. A coupled electromechanical peridynamics code is used to numerically obtain the piezoresistive response of such a material under dynamic conditions, which allows one to capture damage initiation and propagation mechanisms due to stress waves. The relative change in resistance at three locations along the length of the microstructure is monitored, and found to correlate well with deformation and damage mechanisms within the material. This response can depend on many factors, such as carbon nanotube content, electrical conductivity of the grain, impact velocity and fracture properties, which are explored through numerical simulations. For example, it is found that the piezoresistive response is highly dependent on preferential pathways of electrical current , i.e. the phase through which the current flows, which is in turn affected by the conductivity of the grain and the specific pattern of damage. It is found that the results qualitatively agree with experimental data on the dynamic piezoresistive response of nanocomposites and look promising as a sensing mechanism for explosive materials.

Measurement of optical coupling between adjacent bi-material microcantilevers.

Science.gov (United States)

Canetta, Carlo; Narayanaswamy, Arvind

2013-10-01

Low thermal conductance bi-material microcantilevers are fabricated with a pad area near the free end to accommodate a focused laser spot. A pair of such cantilevers are proposed as a configuration for measuring thermal conductance of a nanostructure suspended between the two. We determine the resolution of such a device by measuring the stray conductance it would detect in the absence of any nanostructure. Stray conductance, primarily due to optical coupling, is measured for cantilevers with varying pad size and found to be as low as 0.05 nW K(-1), with cantilevers with larger pad size yielding the smallest stray conductance.

Biosensors for Cell Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Qing; Son, Kyungjin; Liu, Ying; Revzin, Alexander

2015-01-01

Biosensors first appeared several decades ago to address the need for monitoring physiological parameters such as oxygen or glucose in biological fluids such as blood. More recently, a new wave of biosensors has emerged in order to provide more nuanced and granular information about the composition and function of living cells. Such biosensors exist at the confluence of technology and medicine and often strive to connect cell phenotype or function to physiological or pathophysiological processes. Our review aims to describe some of the key technological aspects of biosensors being developed for cell analysis. The technological aspects covered in our review include biorecognition elements used for biosensor construction, methods for integrating cells with biosensors, approaches to single-cell analysis, and the use of nanostructured biosensors for cell analysis. Our hope is that the spectrum of possibilities for cell analysis described in this review may pique the interest of biomedical scientists and engineers and may spur new collaborations in the area of using biosensors for cell analysis.

A High-Content Assay for Biosensor Validation and for Examining Stimuli that Affect Biosensor Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Slattery, Scott D; Hahn, Klaus M

2014-12-01

Biosensors are valuable tools used to monitor many different protein behaviors in vivo. Demand for new biosensors is high, but their development and characterization can be difficult. During biosensor design, it is necessary to evaluate the effects of different biosensor structures on specificity, brightness, and fluorescence responses. By co-expressing the biosensor with upstream proteins that either stimulate or inhibit the activity reported by the biosensor, one can determine the difference between the biosensor's maximally activated and inactivated state, and examine response to specific proteins. We describe here a method for biosensor validation in a 96-well plate format using an automated microscope. This protocol produces dose-response curves, enables efficient examination of many parameters, and unlike cell suspension assays, allows visual inspection (e.g., for cell health and biosensor or regulator localization). Optimization of single-chain and dual-chain Rho GTPase biosensors is addressed, but the assay is applicable to any biosensor that can be expressed or otherwise loaded in adherent cells. The assay can also be used for purposes other than biosensor validation, using a well-characterized biosensor as a readout for effects of upstream molecules. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Understanding interferometry for micro-cantilever displacement detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander von Schmidsfeld

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Interferometric displacement detection in a cantilever-based non-contact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM operated in ultra-high vacuum is demonstrated for the Michelson and Fabry–Pérot modes of operation. Each mode is addressed by appropriately adjusting the distance between the fiber end delivering and collecting light and a highly reflective micro-cantilever, both together forming the interferometric cavity. For a precise measurement of the cantilever displacement, the relative positioning of fiber and cantilever is of critical importance. We describe a systematic approach for accurate alignment as well as the implications of deficient fiber–cantilever configurations. In the Fabry–Pérot regime, the displacement noise spectral density strongly decreases with decreasing distance between the fiber-end and the cantilever, yielding a noise floor of 24 fm/Hz0.5 under optimum conditions.

Microbial biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Yu; Chen, Wilfred; Mulchandani, Ashok

2006-01-01

A microbial biosensor is an analytical device that couples microorganisms with a transducer to enable rapid, accurate and sensitive detection of target analytes in fields as diverse as medicine, environmental monitoring, defense, food processing and safety. The earlier microbial biosensors used the respiratory and metabolic functions of the microorganisms to detect a substance that is either a substrate or an inhibitor of these processes. Recently, genetically engineered microorganisms based on fusing of the lux, gfp or lacZ gene reporters to an inducible gene promoter have been widely applied to assay toxicity and bioavailability. This paper reviews the recent trends in the development and application of microbial biosensors. Current advances and prospective future direction in developing microbial biosensor have also been discussed

Fluorescence biosensor based on CdTe quantum dots for specific detection of H5N1 avian influenza virus

Science.gov (United States)

Hoa Nguyen, Thi; Dieu Thuy Ung, Thi; Hien Vu, Thi; Tran, Thi Kim Chi; Quyen Dong, Van; Khang Dinh, Duy; Liem Nguyen, Quang

2012-09-01

This report highlights the fabrication of fluorescence biosensors based on CdTe quantum dots (QDs) for specific detection of H5N1 avian influenza virus. The core biosensor was composed of (i) the highly luminescent CdTe/CdS QDs, (ii) chromatophores extracted from bacteria Rhodospirillum rubrum, and (iii) the antibody of β-subunit. This core part was linked to the peripheral part of the biosensor via a biotin-streptavidin-biotin bridge and finally connected to the H5N1 antibody to make it ready for detecting H5N1 avian influenza virus. Detailed studies of each constituent were performed showing the image of QDs-labeled chromatophores under optical microscope, proper photoluminescence (PL) spectra of CdTe/CdS QDs, chromatophores and the H5N1 avian influenza viruses.

Piezoresistive effect of the carbon nanotube yarn embedded axially into the 3D braided composite

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xin; Cao, Xiaona

2018-06-01

A new method for monitoring 3D braided composite structure health in real time by embedding the carbon nanotube yarn, based on its piezoresistivity, in the composite axially has been designed. The experimental system for piezoresistive effect detection of the carbon nanotube yarn in the 3D braided composite was built, and the sensing characteristics has been analyzed for further research. Compared with other structural health monitoring methods, the monitoring technique with carbon nanotubes yarns is more suitable for internal damage detection immediately, in addition the strength of the composite can be increased by embedding carbon nanotubes yarns. This method can also be used for strain sensing, the development of intelligent materials and structure systems.

Surface stress-based biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, Shengbo; Zhao, Yuan; Zhang, Wendong; Li, Pengwei; Hu, Jie; Li, Gang

2014-01-15

Surface stress-based biosensors, as one kind of label-free biosensors, have attracted lots of attention in the process of information gathering and measurement for the biological, chemical and medical application with the development of technology and society. This kind of biosensors offers many advantages such as short response time (less than milliseconds) and a typical sensitivity at nanogram, picoliter, femtojoule and attomolar level. Furthermore, it simplifies sample preparation and testing procedures. In this work, progress made towards the use of surface stress-based biosensors for achieving better performance is critically reviewed, including our recent achievement, the optimally circular membrane-based biosensors and biosensor array. The further scientific and technological challenges in this field are also summarized. Critical remark and future steps towards the ultimate surface stress-based biosensors are addressed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Passive Resistor Temperature Compensation for a High-Temperature Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Zong; Liang, Ting; Jia, Pinggang; Hong, Yingping; Qi, Lei; Lei, Cheng; Zhang, Bin; Li, Wangwang; Zhang, Diya; Xiong, Jijun

2016-07-22

The main limitation of high-temperature piezoresistive pressure sensors is the variation of output voltage with operating temperature, which seriously reduces their measurement accuracy. This paper presents a passive resistor temperature compensation technique whose parameters are calculated using differential equations. Unlike traditional experiential arithmetic, the differential equations are independent of the parameter deviation among the piezoresistors of the microelectromechanical pressure sensor and the residual stress caused by the fabrication process or a mismatch in the thermal expansion coefficients. The differential equations are solved using calibration data from uncompensated high-temperature piezoresistive pressure sensors. Tests conducted on the calibrated equipment at various temperatures and pressures show that the passive resistor temperature compensation produces a remarkable effect. Additionally, a high-temperature signal-conditioning circuit is used to improve the output sensitivity of the sensor, which can be reduced by the temperature compensation. Compared to traditional experiential arithmetic, the proposed passive resistor temperature compensation technique exhibits less temperature drift and is expected to be highly applicable for pressure measurements in harsh environments with large temperature variations.

Design optimization of piezoresistive cantilevers for force sensing in air and water

Science.gov (United States)

Doll, Joseph C.; Park, Sung-Jin; Pruitt, Beth L.

2009-01-01

Piezoresistive cantilevers fabricated from doped silicon or metal films are commonly used for force, topography, and chemical sensing at the micro- and macroscales. Proper design is required to optimize the achievable resolution by maximizing sensitivity while simultaneously minimizing the integrated noise over the bandwidth of interest. Existing analytical design methods are insufficient for modeling complex dopant profiles, design constraints, and nonlinear phenomena such as damping in fluid. Here we present an optimization method based on an analytical piezoresistive cantilever model. We use an existing iterative optimizer to minimimize a performance goal, such as minimum detectable force. The design tool is available as open source software. Optimal cantilever design and performance are found to strongly depend on the measurement bandwidth and the constraints applied. We discuss results for silicon piezoresistors fabricated by epitaxy and diffusion, but the method can be applied to any dopant profile or material which can be modeled in a similar fashion or extended to other microelectromechanical systems. PMID:19865512

A novel stress isolation guard-ring design for the improvement of a three-axis piezoresistive accelerometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsieh, Hsieh-Shen; Chang, Heng-Chung; Hu, Chih-Fan; Cheng, Chao-Lin; Fang, Weileun

2011-01-01

This study designs and implements a stress isolation guard-ring structure to improve the performances of the existing single proof-mass three-axis piezoresistive accelerometer. Thus, the environment disturbances, such as temperature variation and force/deflection transmittance, for a packaged three-axis piezoresistive accelerometer are significantly reduced. In application, the three-axis piezoresistive accelerometer has been fabricated using the bulk micromachining process on the SOI wafer. Experimental results show that the out-of-plane deformation of the suspended spring mass on the packaged accelerometer is reduced from 0.72 to 0.10 µm at a 150 °C temperature elevation. The temperature coefficient of zero-g offset for the presented sensor is reduced, and the temperature-induced sensitivity variation is minimized as well. Measurements also demonstrate that the guard-ring design successfully reduces the false signals induced by the force and displacement transmittance disturbances for one order of magnitude. Moreover, the three-axis acceleration sensing for the presented accelerometer with guard ring has also been demonstrated with sensitivities of 0.12–0.17 mV V −1 g −1 and nonlinearity < 1.02%.

Biosensors of bacterial cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Burlage, Robert S; Tillmann, Joshua

2017-07-01

Biosensors are devices which utilize both an electrical component (transducer) and a biological component to study an environment. They are typically used to examine biological structures, organisms and processes. The field of biosensors has now become so large and varied that the technology can often seem impenetrable. Yet the principles which underlie the technology are uncomplicated, even if the details of the mechanisms are elusive. In this review we confine our analysis to relatively current advancements in biosensors for the detection of whole bacterial cells. This includes biosensors which rely on an added labeled component and biosensors which do not have a labeled component and instead detect the binding event or bound structure on the transducer. Methods to concentrate the bacteria prior to biosensor analysis are also described. The variety of biosensor types and their actual and potential uses are described. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cholinesterase-based biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Štěpánková, Šárka; Vorčáková, Katarína

2016-01-01

Recently, cholinesterase-based biosensors are widely used for assaying anticholinergic compounds. Primarily biosensors based on enzyme inhibition are useful analytical tools for fast screening of inhibitors, such as organophosphates and carbamates. The present review is aimed at compilation of the most important facts about cholinesterase based biosensors, types of physico-chemical transduction, immobilization strategies and practical applications.

Biomolecule recognition using piezoresistive nanomechanical force probes

Science.gov (United States)

Tosolini, Giordano; Scarponi, Filippo; Cannistraro, Salvatore; Bausells, Joan

2013-06-01

Highly sensitive sensors are one of the enabling technologies for the biomarker detection in early stage diagnosis of pathologies. We have developed a self-sensing nanomechanical force probe able for detecting the unbinding of single couples of biomolecular partners in nearly physiological conditions. The embedding of a piezoresistive transducer into a nanomechanical cantilever enabled high force measurement capability with sub 10-pN resolution. Here, we present the design, microfabrication, optimization, and complete characterization of the sensor. The exceptional electromechanical performance obtained allowed us to detect biorecognition specific events underlying the biotin-avidin complex formation, by integrating the sensor in a commercial atomic force microscope.

Development of a combined piezoresistive pressure and temperature sensor using a chemical protective coating for Kraft pulp digester process monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohammadi, Abdolreza R; Chiao, Mu; Bennington, Chad P J

2011-01-01

We have developed an integrated piezoresistive pressure and temperature sensor for multiphase chemical reactors, primarily Kraft pulp digesters (pH 13.5, temperatures up to 175 °C, reaching a local maximum of 180 °C and pressures up to 2 MPa). The absolute piezoresistive pressure sensor consisted of a large square silicon diaphragm (1000 × 1000 µm 2 ) and high resistance piezoresistors (10 000 Ω). A 4500 Ω buried piezoresistive wire was patterned on the silicon chip to form a piezoresistive temperature sensor which was used for pressure sensor compensation and temperature measurement. A 4 µm thick Parylene HT® coating, a chemically resistant epoxy and a silicone conformal coating were deposited to passivate the pressure sensor against the caustic environment in Kraft digesters. The sensors were characterized up to 2 MPa and 180 °C in an environment chamber. A maximum thermal error of ±0.72% full-scale output (FSO), an average sensitivity of 0.116 mV (V kPa) −1 and a power consumption of 0.3 mW were measured in the pressure sensor. The sensors' resistances were measured before and after test in a Kraft pulping cycle and showed no change in their values. SEM pictures and topographical surfaces were also analyzed before and after pulp liquor exposure and showed no observable changes.

Photoelectrochemical enzymatic biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Wei-Wei; Xu, Jing-Juan; Chen, Hong-Yuan

2017-06-15

Enzymatic biosensors have been valuable bioanalytical devices for analysis of diverse targets in disease diagnosis, biological and biomedical research, etc. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) bioanalysis is a recently emerged method that promptly becoming a subject of new research interests due to its attractive potential for future bioanalysis with high sensitivity and specificity. PEC enzymatic biosensors integrate the inherent sensitivities of PEC bioanalysis and the selectivity of enzymes and thus share their both advantages. Currently, PEC enzymatic biosensors have become a hot topic of significant research and the recent impetus has grown rapidly as demonstrated by increased research papers. Given the pace of advances in this area, this review will make a thorough discussion and survey on the fundamentals, sensing strategies, applications and the state of the art in PEC enzymatic biosensors, followed by future prospects based on our own opinions. We hope this work could provide an accessible introduction to PEC enzymatic biosensors for any scientist. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Piezoresistive Composite Silicon Dioxide Nanocantilever Surface Stress Sensor: Design and Optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathew, Ribu; Sankar, A Ravi

2018-05-01

In this paper, we present the design and optimization of a rectangular piezoresistive composite silicon dioxide nanocantilever sensor. Unlike the conventional design approach, we perform the sensor optimization by not only considering its electro-mechanical response but also incorporating the impact of self-heating induced thermal drift in its terminal characteristics. Through extensive simulations first we comprehend and quantify the inaccuracies due to self-heating effect induced by the geometrical and intrinsic parameters of the piezoresistor. Then, by optimizing the ratio of electrical sensitivity to thermal sensitivity defined as the sensitivity ratio (υ) we improve the sensor performance and measurement reliability. Results show that to ensure υ ≥ 1, shorter and wider piezoresistors are better. In addition, it is observed that unlike the general belief that high doping concentration of piezoresistor reduces thermal sensitivity in piezoresistive sensors, to ensure υ ≥ 1 doping concentration (p) should be in the range: 1E18 cm-3 ≤ p ≤ 1E19 cm-3. Finally, we provide a set of design guidelines that will help NEMS engineers to optimize the performance of such sensors for chemical and biological sensing applications.

Biosensors and bioelectronics

CERN Document Server

Karunakaran, Chandran; Benjamin, Robson

2015-01-01

Biosensors and Bioelectronics presents the rapidly evolving methodologies that are relevant to biosensors and bioelectronics fabrication and characterization. The book provides a comprehensive understanding of biosensor functionality, and is an interdisciplinary reference that includes a range of interwoven contributing subjects, including electrochemistry, nanoparticles, and conducting polymers. Authored by a team of bioinstrumentation experts, this book serves as a blueprint for performing advanced fabrication and characterization of sensor systems-arming readers with an application-based re

DNA nanotechnology-enabled biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Jie; Zhu, Dan; Zhang, Yinan; Wang, Lianhui; Fan, Chunhai

2016-02-15

Biosensors employ biological molecules to recognize the target and utilize output elements which can translate the biorecognition event into electrical, optical or mass-sensitive signals to determine the quantities of the target. DNA-based biosensors, as a sub-field to biosensor, utilize DNA strands with short oligonucleotides as probes for target recognition. Although DNA-based biosensors have offered a promising alternative for fast, simple and cheap detection of target molecules, there still exist key challenges including poor stability and reproducibility that hinder their competition with the current gold standard for DNA assays. By exploiting the self-recognition properties of DNA molecules, researchers have dedicated to make versatile DNA nanostructures in a highly rigid, controllable and functionalized manner, which offers unprecedented opportunities for developing DNA-based biosensors. In this review, we will briefly introduce the recent advances on design and fabrication of static and dynamic DNA nanostructures, and summarize their applications for fabrication and functionalization of DNA-based biosensors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical biosensors for hormone analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahadır, Elif Burcu; Sezgintürk, Mustafa Kemal

2015-06-15

Electrochemical biosensors have a unique place in determination of hormones due to simplicity, sensitivity, portability and ease of operation. Unlike chromatographic techniques, electrochemical techniques used do not require pre-treatment. Electrochemical biosensors are based on amperometric, potentiometric, impedimetric, and conductometric principle. Amperometric technique is a commonly used one. Although electrochemical biosensors offer a great selectivity and sensitivity for early clinical analysis, the poor reproducible results, difficult regeneration steps remain primary challenges to the commercialization of these biosensors. This review summarizes electrochemical (amperometric, potentiometric, impedimetric and conductometric) biosensors for hormone detection for the first time in the literature. After a brief description of the hormones, the immobilization steps and analytical performance of these biosensors are summarized. Linear ranges, LODs, reproducibilities, regenerations of developed biosensors are compared. Future outlooks in this area are also discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biosensors and preparation thereof

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2008-01-01

A low-temp. prepn. method for a biosensor device with a layer of reagent on the sensor surface is disclosed. During manufg. biol. interaction between the biosensor substrate and the reagent layer material is reduced, e.g. by cooling the biosensor substrate and depositing the reagent layer on the

Integrated automated nanomanipulation and real-time cellular surface imaging for mechanical properties characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Eslami, Sohrab; Zareian, Ramin; Jalili, Nader

2012-10-01

Surface microscopy of individual biological cells is essential for determining the patterns of cell migration to study the tumor formation or metastasis. This paper presents a correlated and effective theoretical and experimental technique to automatically address the biophysical and mechanical properties and acquire live images of biological cells which are of interest in studying cancer. In the theoretical part, a distributed-parameters model as the comprehensive representation of the microcantilever is presented along with a model of the contact force as a function of the indentation depth and mechanical properties of the biological sample. Analysis of the transfer function of the whole system in the frequency domain is carried out to characterize the stiffness and damping coefficients of the sample. In the experimental section, unlike the conventional atomic force microscope techniques basically using the laser for determining the deflection of microcantilever's tip, a piezoresistive microcantilever serving as a force sensor is implemented to produce the appropriate voltage and measure the deflection of the microcantilever. A micromanipulator robotic system is integrated with the MATLAB® and programmed in such a way to automatically control the microcantilever mounted on the tip of the micromanipulator to achieve the topography of biological samples including the human corneal cells. For this purpose, the human primary corneal fibroblasts are extracted and adhered on a sterilized culture dish and prepared to attain their topographical image. The proposed methodology herein allows an approach to obtain 2D quality images of cells being comparatively cost effective and extendable to obtain 3D images of individual cells. The characterized mechanical properties of the human corneal cell are furthermore established by comparing and validating the phase shift of the theoretical and experimental results of the frequency response.

Microstructuring of piezoresistive cantilevers for gas detection and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarov, Y.; Sarova, V.; Bitterlich, Ch.; Richter, O.; Guliyev, E.; Zoellner, J.-P.; Rangelow, I. W.; Andok, R.; Bencurova, A.

2011-01-01

In this work we report on a design and fabrication of cantilevers for gas detection and analysis. The cantilevers have expanded area of interaction with the gas, while the signal transduction is realized by an integrated piezoresistive deflection sensor, placed at the narrowed cantilever base with highest stress along the cantilever. Moreover, the cantilevers have integrated bimorph micro-actuator detection in a static and dynamic mode. The cantilevers are feasible as pressure, temperature and flow sensors and under chemical functionalization - for gas recognition, tracing and composition analysis. (authors)

A study of the deformation and failure mechanisms of protective intermetallic coatings on AZ91 Mg alloys using microcantilever bending

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Mingyuan; Mead, James; Wu, Yueqin; Russell, Hugh; Huang, Han, E-mail: han.huang@uq.edu.au

2016-10-15

In this study, a nanoindentation-based microcantilever bending technique was utilized to investigate the interfacial properties of a β-Mg{sub 17}Al{sub 12}/AZ91 Mg alloy film/substrate system under tensile loading conditions. Finite element analysis (FEA) was first undertaken to optimise the design of cantilever structures for inducing high tensile stresses at the interface. Cantilevers consisting of a necked region or notch at the interface were determined to be the most successful designs. Microcantilevers containing the β-Mg{sub 17}Al{sub 12}/AZ91 interface were then made using focused ion beam (FIB) milling technique. Necks were made in the cantilevers to intensify the tension at the interface and notches were used to introduce a stress concentration to the interface. During bending, the cantilevers were deflected to failure. Subsequent analysis of the deformed cantilevers using electron microscopies revealed that plastic deformation, and subsequent ductile rupture, of the AZ91 phase was the dominant failure mechanism. When the β-Mg{sub 17}Al{sub 12}/AZ91 film/substrate system was subjected to tension, the softer AZ91 phase failed prior to interfacial delamination, demonstrating that the strength of the interface exceeded the stresses that caused ductile failure in the substrate material. - Highlights: •Microcantilever bending was used to study the property of film/substrate interface. •FEA was used to optimise cantilever design for achieving high interfacial tension. •The intermetallic coatings on AZ91 substrate have strong interfacial adhesion.

A flexible piezoresistive carbon black network in silicone rubber for wide range deformation and strain sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jianxiong; Wang, Hai; Zhu, Yali

2018-01-01

This work presents the design, fabrication, and measurement of a piezoresistive device with a carbon black (CB) particle network in a highly flexible silicone rubber for large deformation and wide range strain sensing. The piezoresistive composite film was fabricated with a mixture of silicone rubber and CB filler particles. The test results showed that the CB particle network in the silicone rubber strongly affected the resistance of the device during the process of drawing and its recovery. We found that the 50% volume ratio of CB filler particles showed a lower relative resistance than the 33.3% volume ratio of CB filler particles, but with an advantage of good resistance recovery stability and a smaller perturbation error (smaller changed resistance) during the periodic back and forth linear motor test. With both having a 50% volume ratio of CB filler particles and a 33.3% volume ratio of CB filler particles, one can reach up to 200% strain with resistances 18 kΩ and 110 kΩ, respectively. We also found that the relative resistance increased in an approximately linear relationship corresponding to the value of step-increased instantaneous length for the reported device. Moreover, an application test through hand drawing was used to demonstrate the piezoresistive performance of the device, which showed that the reported device was capable of measuring the instantaneous length with large deformation.

Piezoresistance in p-type silicon revisited

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richter, Jacob; Pedersen, Jesper; Brandbyge, Mads

2008-01-01

We calculate the shear piezocoefficient pi44 in p-type Si with a 6×6 k·p Hamiltonian model using the Boltzmann transport equation in the relaxation-time approximation. Furthermore, we fabricate and characterize p-type silicon piezoresistors embedded in a (001) silicon substrate. We find...... to experiments. Finally, we present a fitting function of temperature and acceptor density to the 6×6 model that can be used to predict the piezoresistance effect in p-type silicon. ©2008 American Institute of Physics...... that the relaxation-time model needs to include all scattering mechanisms in order to obtain correct temperature and acceptor density dependencies. The k·p results are compared to results obtained using a recent tight-binding (TB) model. The magnitude of the pi44 piezocoefficient obtained from the TB model...

A Tactile Sensor Using Piezoresistive Beams for Detection of the Coefficient of Static Friction.

Science.gov (United States)

Okatani, Taiyu; Takahashi, Hidetoshi; Noda, Kentaro; Takahata, Tomoyuki; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi; Shimoyama, Isao

2016-05-18

This paper reports on a tactile sensor using piezoresistive beams for detection of the coefficient of static friction merely by pressing the sensor against an object. The sensor chip is composed of three pairs of piezoresistive beams arranged in parallel and embedded in an elastomer; this sensor is able to measure the vertical and lateral strains of the elastomer. The coefficient of static friction is estimated from the ratio of the fractional resistance changes corresponding to the sensing elements of vertical and lateral strains when the sensor is in contact with an object surface. We applied a normal force on the sensor surface through objects with coefficients of static friction ranging from 0.2 to 1.1. The fractional resistance changes corresponding to vertical and lateral strains were proportional to the applied force. Furthermore, the relationship between these responses changed according to the coefficients of static friction. The experimental result indicated the proposed sensor could determine the coefficient of static friction before a global slip occurs.

Nanochannels Photoelectrochemical Biosensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Nan; Ruan, Yi-Fan; Zhang, Li-Bin; Zhao, Wei-Wei; Xu, Jing-Juan; Chen, Hong-Yuan

2018-02-06

Nanochannels have brought new opportunities for biosensor development. Herein, we present the novel concept of a nanochannels photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor based on the integration of a unique Cu x O-nanopyramid-islands (NPIs) photocathode, an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) catalytic chemistry. The Cu x O-NPIs photocathode possesses good performance, and further assembly with AAO yields a designed architecture composed of vertically aligned, highly ordered nanoarrays on top of the Cu x O-NPIs film. After biocatalytic precipitation (BCP) was stimulated within the channels, the biosensor was used for the successful detection of ALP activity. This study has not only provided a novel paradigm for an unconventional nanochannels PEC biosensor, which can be used for general bioanalytical purposes, but also indicated that the new concept of nanochannel-semiconductor heterostructures is a step toward innovative biomedical applications.

A simulation of atomic force microscope microcantilever in the tapping mode utilizing couple stress theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi, Mohammad

2018-04-01

The nonlinear vibration behavior of a Tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) microcantilever under acoustic excitation force has been modeled and investigated. In dynamic AFM, the tip-surface interactions are strongly nonlinear, rapidly changing and hysteretic. First, the governing differential equation of motion and boundary conditions for dynamic analysis are obtained using the modified couple stress theory. Afterwards, closed-form expressions for nonlinear frequency and effective nonlinear damping ratio are derived utilizing perturbation method. The effect of tip connection position on the vibration behavior of the microcantilever are also analyzed. The results show that nonlinear frequency is size dependent. According to the results, an increase in the equilibrium separation between the tip and the sample surface reduces the overall effect of van der Waals forces on the nonlinear frequency, but its effect on the effective nonlinear damping ratio is negligible. The results also indicate that both the change in the distance between tip and cantilever free end and the reduction of tip radius have significant effects on the accuracy and sensitivity of the TM-AFM in the measurement of surface forces. The hysteretic behavior has been observed in the near resonance frequency response due to softening and hardening of the forced vibration response. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial biosensors for environmental monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David VOGRINC

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Microbial biosensors are analytical devices capable of sensing substances in the environment due to the specific biological reaction of the microorganism or its parts. Construction of a microbial biosensor requires knowledge of microbial response to the specific analyte. Linking this response with the quantitative data, using a transducer, is the crucial step in the construction of a biosensor. Regarding the transducer type, biosensors are divided into electrochemical, optical biosensors and microbial fuel cells. The use of the proper configuration depends on the selection of the biosensing element. With the use of transgenic E. coli strains, bioluminescence or fluorescence based biosensors were developed. Microbial fuel cells enable the use of the heterogeneous microbial populations, isolated from wastewater. Different microorganisms are used for different pollutants – pesticides, heavy metals, phenolic compounds, organic waste, etc. Biosensing enables measurement of their concentration and their toxic or genotoxic effects on the microbes. Increasing environmental awareness has contributed to the increase of interest for biomonitoring. Although technologies, such as bioinformatics and genetic engineering, allow us to design complex and efficient microbial biosensors for environmental pollutants, the transfer of the laboratory work to the field still remains a problem to solve.

Capacitive Biosensors and Molecularly Imprinted Electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ertürk, Gizem; Mattiasson, Bo

2017-02-17

Capacitive biosensors belong to the group of affinity biosensors that operate by registering direct binding between the sensor surface and the target molecule. This type of biosensors measures the changes in dielectric properties and/or thickness of the dielectric layer at the electrolyte/electrode interface. Capacitive biosensors have so far been successfully used for detection of proteins, nucleotides, heavy metals, saccharides, small organic molecules and microbial cells. In recent years, the microcontact imprinting method has been used to create very sensitive and selective biorecognition cavities on surfaces of capacitive electrodes. This chapter summarizes the principle and different applications of capacitive biosensors with an emphasis on microcontact imprinting method with its recent capacitive biosensor applications.

Process Optimization for Monolithic Integration of Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor and MOSFET Amplifier with SOI Approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, V Vinoth; Dasgupta, A; Bhat, K N; KNatarajan

2006-01-01

In this paper we present the design and process optimization for fabricating piezoresitive pressure sensor and MOSFET Differential Amplifier simultaneously on the same chip. Silicon On Insulator approach has been used for realizing the membrane as well as the electronics on the same chip. The amplifier circuit has been configured in the common source connection and it has been designed with PSPICE simulation to achieve a voltage gain of about 5. In the initial set of experiments the Pressure sensor and the amplifier were fabricated on separate chips to optimize the process steps and tested in the hybrid mode. In the next set of experiments, SOI wafer having the SOI layer thickness of about 11 microns was used for realizing the membrane by anisotropic etching from the backside. The piezo-resistive pressure sensor was realized on this membrane by connecting the polysilicon resistors in the form of a Wheatstone bridge. The MOSFET source follower amplifier was also fabricated on the same SOI wafer by tailoring the process steps to suit the requirement of simultaneous fabrication of piezoresistors and the amplifier for achieving MOSFET Integrated Pressure Sensor. Reproducible results have been achieved on the SOI wafers, with the process steps developed in the laboratory. Sensitivity of 270 mV /Bar/10V, with the on chip amplifier gain of 4.5, has been achieved with this process

Effect of degree of crosslinking and polymerization of 3D printable polymer/ionic liquid composites on performance of stretchable piezoresistive sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jeongwoo; Faruk Emon, Md Omar; Vatani, Morteza; Choi, Jae-Won

2017-03-01

Ionic liquid (IL)/polymer composites (1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIMBF4)/2-[[(butylamino)carbonyl]oxy]ethyl acrylate (BACOEA)) were fabricated to use as sensing materials for stretchable piezoresistive tactile sensors. The detectability of the IL/polymer composites was enhanced because the ionic transport properties of EMIMBF4 in the composites were improved by the synergic actions between the coordinate sites generated by the local motion of BACOEA chain segments under enough activation energy. The performance of the piezoresistive sensors was investigated with the degree of crosslinking and polymerization of the IL/polymer composites. As the compressive strain was increased, the distance between two electrodes decreased, and the motion of polymer chains and IL occurred, resulting in a decrease in the electrical resistance of the sensors. We have confirmed that the sensitivity of the sensors are affected by the degree of crosslink and polymerization of the IL/polymer composites. In addition, all of the materials (skins, sensing material, and electrode) used in this study are photo-curable, and thus the stretchable piezoresistive tactile sensors can be successfully fabricated by 3D printing.

Plasmonic biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Ryan T

2015-01-01

The unique optical properties of plasmon resonant nanostructures enable exploration of nanoscale environments using relatively simple optical characterization techniques. For this reason, the field of plasmonics continues to garner the attention of the biosensing community. Biosensors based on propagating surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) in films are the most well-recognized plasmonic biosensors, but there is great potential for the new, developing technologies to surpass the robustness and popularity of film-based SPR sensing. This review surveys the current plasmonic biosensor landscape with emphasis on the basic operating principles of each plasmonic sensing technique and the practical considerations when developing a sensing platform with the various techniques. The 'gold standard' film SPR technique is reviewed briefly, but special emphasis is devoted to the up-and-coming localized surface plasmon resonance and plasmonically coupled sensor technology. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Tactile Sensor Using Piezoresistive Beams for Detection of the Coefficient of Static Friction

Science.gov (United States)

Okatani, Taiyu; Takahashi, Hidetoshi; Noda, Kentaro; Takahata, Tomoyuki; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi; Shimoyama, Isao

2016-01-01

This paper reports on a tactile sensor using piezoresistive beams for detection of the coefficient of static friction merely by pressing the sensor against an object. The sensor chip is composed of three pairs of piezoresistive beams arranged in parallel and embedded in an elastomer; this sensor is able to measure the vertical and lateral strains of the elastomer. The coefficient of static friction is estimated from the ratio of the fractional resistance changes corresponding to the sensing elements of vertical and lateral strains when the sensor is in contact with an object surface. We applied a normal force on the sensor surface through objects with coefficients of static friction ranging from 0.2 to 1.1. The fractional resistance changes corresponding to vertical and lateral strains were proportional to the applied force. Furthermore, the relationship between these responses changed according to the coefficients of static friction. The experimental result indicated the proposed sensor could determine the coefficient of static friction before a global slip occurs. PMID:27213374

A High-Temperature Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor with an Integrated Signal-Conditioning Circuit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zong Yao

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the design and fabrication of a high-temperature piezoresistive pressure sensor with an integrated signal-conditioning circuit, which consists of an encapsulated pressure-sensitive chip, a temperature compensation circuit and a signal-conditioning circuit. A silicon on insulation (SOI material and a standard MEMS process are used in the pressure-sensitive chip fabrication, and high-temperature electronic components are adopted in the temperature-compensation and signal-conditioning circuits. The entire pressure sensor achieves a hermetic seal and can be operated long-term in the range of −50 °C to 220 °C. Unlike traditional pressure sensor output voltage ranges (in the dozens to hundreds of millivolts, the output voltage of this sensor is from 0 V to 5 V, which can significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio and measurement accuracy in practical applications of long-term transmission based on experimental verification. Furthermore, because this flexible sensor’s output voltage is adjustable, general follow-up pressure transmitter devices for voltage converters need not be used, which greatly reduces the cost of the test system. Thus, the proposed high-temperature piezoresistive pressure sensor with an integrated signal-conditioning circuit is expected to be highly applicable to pressure measurements in harsh environments.

Homotopy Analysis Method for Nonlinear Dynamical System of an Electrostatically Actuated Microcantilever

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. M. Chen

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The homotopy analysis method (HAM is employed to propose an approach for solving the nonlinear dynamical system of an electrostatically actuated micro-cantilever in MEMS. There are two relative merits of the presented HAM compared with some usual procedures of the HAM. First, a new auxiliary linear operator is constructed. This operator makes it unnecessary to eliminate any secular terms. Furthermore, all the deformation equations are purely linear. Numerical examples show the excellent agreement of the attained solutions with numerical ones. The respective effects of applied voltage, cubic nonlinear stiffness, gap distance, and squeeze film damping on vibration responses are analyzed detailedly.

Graphene-based field-effect transistor biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Chen; , Junhong; Mao, Shun; Lu, Ganhua

2017-06-14

The disclosure provides a field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensor and uses thereof. In particular, to FET-based biosensors using thermally reduced graphene-based sheets as a conducting channel decorated with nanoparticle-biomolecule conjugates. The present disclosure also relates to FET-based biosensors using metal nitride/graphene hybrid sheets. The disclosure provides a method for detecting a target biomolecule in a sample using the FET-based biosensor described herein.

Using microcantilever sensors to measure poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) plasticization by moisture uptake

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alves, Gustavo Marcati A.; Bose-Goswami, Sanjukta; Mansano, Ronaldo D.

2018-01-01

Polymeric materials absorb water when exposed to humidity or in contact with aqueous solutions. The polymer and water molecules interact, changing the physicochemical parameters of the material; the most noticeable effect is a decreased glass transition temperature (Tg), known as plasticization. We...... used microcantilever sensors to measure the Tg versus moisture content in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), a biodegradable polymer used in implants and as a drug carrier. We demonstrate a concomitant measurement of the mass absorption and Tg using nanograms of material and an inexpensive setup...

Guided-Wave Optical Biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Passaro, Vittorio M. N.; Dell'Olio, Francesco; Casamassima, Biagio; De Leonardis, Francesco

2007-01-01

Guided-wave optical biosensors are reviewed in this paper. Advantages related to optical technologies are presented and integrated architectures are investigated in detail. Main classes of bio receptors and the most attractive optical transduction mechanisms are discussed. The possibility to use Mach-Zehnder and Young interferometers, microdisk and microring resonators, surface plasmon resonance, hollow and antiresonant waveguides, and Bragg gratings to realize very sensitive and selective, ultra-compact and fast biosensors is discussed. Finally, CMOS-compatible technologies are proved to be the most attractive for fabrication of guided-wave photonic biosensors.

Electrochemical biosensors

CERN Document Server

Cosnier, Serge

2015-01-01

"This is an excellent book on modern electrochemical biosensors, edited by Professor Cosnier and written by leading international experts. It covers state-of-the-art topics of this important field in a clear and timely manner."-Prof. Joseph Wang, UC San Diego, USA 　"This book covers, in 13 well-illustrated chapters, the potential of electrochemical methods intimately combined with a biological component for the assay of various analytes of biological and environmental interest. Particular attention is devoted to the description of electrochemical microtools in close contact with a biological cell for exocytosis monitoring and to the use of nanomaterials in the electrochemical biosensor architecture for signal improvement. Interestingly, one chapter describes the concept and design of self-powered biosensors derived from biofuel cells. Each topic is reviewed by experts very active in the field. This timely book is well suited for providing a good overview of current research trends devoted to electrochemical...

Introduction to biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhalla, Nikhil; Jolly, Pawan; Formisano, Nello; Estrela, Pedro

2016-06-30

Biosensors are nowadays ubiquitous in biomedical diagnosis as well as a wide range of other areas such as point-of-care monitoring of treatment and disease progression, environmental monitoring, food control, drug discovery, forensics and biomedical research. A wide range of techniques can be used for the development of biosensors. Their coupling with high-affinity biomolecules allows the sensitive and selective detection of a range of analytes. We give a general introduction to biosensors and biosensing technologies, including a brief historical overview, introducing key developments in the field and illustrating the breadth of biomolecular sensing strategies and the expansion of nanotechnological approaches that are now available. © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

Feedback damping of a microcantilever at room temperature to the minimum vibration amplitude limited by the noise level.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawamura, Y; Kanegae, R

2016-06-17

Cooling the vibration amplitude of a microcantilever as low as possible is important to improve the sensitivity and resolutions of various types of scanning type microscopes and sensors making use of it. When the vibration amplitude is controlled to be smaller using a feed back control system, it is known that the obtainable minimum amplitude of the vibration is limited by the floor noise level of the detection system. In this study, we demonstrated that the amplitude of the thermal vibration of a microcantilever was suppressed to be about 0.15 pmHz(-1/2), which is the same value with the floor noise level, without the assistance of external cryogenic cooling. We think that one of the reason why we could reach the smaller amplitude at room temperature is due to stiffer spring constant of the lever, which leads to higher natural frequency and consequently lower floor noise level. The other reason is considered to be due to the increase in the laser power for the diagnostics, which lead to the decrease in the signal to noise ratio determined by the optical shot noise.

Electrochemical biosensors in pharmaceutical analysis

OpenAIRE

Gil, Eric de Souza; Melo, Giselle Rodrigues de

2010-01-01

Given the increasing demand for practical and low-cost analytical techniques, biosensors have attracted attention for use in the quality analysis of drugs, medicines, and other analytes of interest in the pharmaceutical area. Biosensors allow quantification not only of the active component in pharmaceutical formulations, but also the analysis of degradation products and metabolites in biological fluids. Thus, this article presents a brief review of biosensor use in pharmaceutical analysis, fo...

Biosensors-on-chip: a topical review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Sensen; Shamsi, Mohtashim H

2017-01-01

This review will examine the integration of two fields that are currently at the forefront of science, i.e. biosensors and microfluidics. As a lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology, microfluidics has been enriched by the integration of various detection tools for analyte detection and quantitation. The application of such microfluidic platforms is greatly increased in the area of biosensors geared towards point-of-care diagnostics. Together, the merger of microfluidics and biosensors has generated miniaturized devices for sample processing and sensitive detection with quantitation. We believe that microfluidic biosensors (biosensors-on-chip) are essential for developing robust and cost effective point-of-care diagnostics. This review is relevant to a variety of disciplines, such as medical science, clinical diagnostics, LOC technologies including MEMs/NEMs, and analytical science. Specifically, this review will appeal to scientists working in the two overlapping fields of biosensors and microfluidics, and will also help new scientists to find their directions in developing point-of-care devices. (topical review)

Biosensors in Clinical Practice: Focus on Oncohematology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agostino Cortelezzi

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Biosensors are devices that are capable of detecting specific biological analytes and converting their presence or concentration into some electrical, thermal, optical or other signal that can be easily analysed. The first biosensor was designed by Clark and Lyons in 1962 as a means of measuring glucose. Since then, much progress has been made and the applications of biosensors are today potentially boundless. This review is limited to their clinical applications, particularly in the field of oncohematology. Biosensors have recently been developed in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients affected by hematological malignancies, such as the biosensor for assessing the in vitro pre-treatment efficacy of cytarabine in acute myeloid leukemia, and the fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based biosensor for assessing the efficacy of imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia. The review also considers the challenges and future perspectives of biosensors in clinical practice.

A method enabling simultaneous pressure and temperature measurement using a single piezoresistive MEMS pressure sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frantlović, Miloš; Stanković, Srđan; Jokić, Ivana; Lazić, Žarko; Smiljanić, Milče; Obradov, Marko; Vukelić, Branko; Jakšić, Zoran

2016-01-01

In this paper we present a high-performance, simple and low-cost method for simultaneous measurement of pressure and temperature using a single piezoresistive MEMS pressure sensor. The proposed measurement method utilizes the parasitic temperature sensitivity of the sensing element for both pressure measurement correction and temperature measurement. A parametric mathematical model of the sensor was established and its parameters were calculated using the obtained characterization data. Based on the model, a real-time sensor correction for both pressure and temperature measurements was implemented in a target measurement system. The proposed method was verified experimentally on a group of typical industrial-grade piezoresistive sensors. The obtained results indicate that the method enables the pressure measurement performance to exceed that of typical digital industrial pressure transmitters, achieving at the same time the temperature measurement performance comparable to industrial-grade platinum resistance temperature sensors. The presented work is directly applicable in industrial instrumentation, where it can add temperature measurement capability to the existing pressure measurement instruments, requiring little or no additional hardware, and without adverse effects on pressure measurement performance. (paper)

Piezoresistance of top-down suspended Si nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koumela, A; Mercier, D; Dupre, C; Jourdan, G; Marcoux, C; Ollier, E; Duraffourg, L; Purcell, S T

2011-01-01

Measurements of the gauge factor of suspended, top-down silicon nanowires are presented. The nanowires are fabricated with a CMOS compatible process and with doping concentrations ranging from 2 x 10 20 down to 5 x 10 17 cm -3 . The extracted gauge factors are compared with results on identical non-suspended nanowires and with state-of-the-art results. An increase of the gauge factor after suspension is demonstrated. For the low doped nanowires a value of 235 is measured. Particular attention was paid throughout the experiments to distinguishing real resistance change due to strain modulation from resistance fluctuations due to charge trapping. Furthermore, a numerical model correlating surface charge density with the gauge factor is presented. Comparison of the simulations with experimental measurements shows the validity of this approach. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the piezoresistive effect in Si nanowires.

Embedding piezoresistive pressure sensors to obtain online pressure profiles inside fiber composite laminates.

Science.gov (United States)

Moghaddam, Maryam Kahali; Breede, Arne; Brauner, Christian; Lang, Walter

2015-03-27

The production of large and complex parts using fiber composite materials is costly due to the frequent formation of voids, porosity and waste products. By embedding different types of sensors and monitoring the process in real time, the amount of wastage can be significantly reduced. This work focuses on developing a knowledge-based method to improve and ensure complete impregnation of the fibers before initiation of the resin cure. Piezoresistive and capacitive pressure sensors were embedded in fiber composite laminates to measure the real-time the pressure values inside the laminate. A change of pressure indicates resin infusion. The sensors were placed in the laminate and the resin was infused by vacuum. The embedded piezoresistive pressure sensors were able to track the vacuum pressure in the fiber composite laminate setup, as well as the arrival of the resin at the sensor. The pressure increase due to closing the resin inlet was also measured. In contrast, the capacitive type of sensor was found to be inappropriate for measuring these quantities. The following study demonstrates real-time monitoring of pressure changes inside the fiber composite laminate, which validate the use of Darcy's law in porous media to control the resin flow during infusion.

A New Laccase Based Biosensor for Tartrazine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti Zulaikha Mazlan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Laccase enzyme, a commonly used enzyme for the construction of biosensors for phenolic compounds was used for the first time to develop a new biosensor for the determination of the azo-dye tartrazine. The electrochemical biosensor was based on the immobilization of laccase on functionalized methacrylate-acrylate microspheres. The biosensor membrane is a composite of the laccase conjugated microspheres and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs coated on a carbon-paste screen-printed electrode. The reaction involving tartrazine can be catalyzed by laccase enzyme, where the current change was measured by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV at 1.1 V. The anodic peak current was linear within the tartrazine concentration range of 0.2 to 14 μM (R2 = 0.979 and the detection limit was 0.04 μM. Common food ingredients or additives such as glucose, sucrose, ascorbic acid, phenol and sunset yellow did not interfere with the biosensor response. Furthermore, the biosensor response was stable up to 30 days of storage period at 4 °C. Foods and beverage were used as real samples for the biosensor validation. The biosensor response to tartrazine showed no significant difference with a standard HPLC method for tartrazine analysis.

A New Laccase Based Biosensor for Tartrazine.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazlan, Siti Zulaikha; Lee, Yook Heng; Hanifah, Sharina Abu

2017-12-09

Laccase enzyme, a commonly used enzyme for the construction of biosensors for phenolic compounds was used for the first time to develop a new biosensor for the determination of the azo-dye tartrazine. The electrochemical biosensor was based on the immobilization of laccase on functionalized methacrylate-acrylate microspheres. The biosensor membrane is a composite of the laccase conjugated microspheres and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated on a carbon-paste screen-printed electrode. The reaction involving tartrazine can be catalyzed by laccase enzyme, where the current change was measured by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at 1.1 V. The anodic peak current was linear within the tartrazine concentration range of 0.2 to 14 μM ( R ² = 0.979) and the detection limit was 0.04 μM. Common food ingredients or additives such as glucose, sucrose, ascorbic acid, phenol and sunset yellow did not interfere with the biosensor response. Furthermore, the biosensor response was stable up to 30 days of storage period at 4 °C. Foods and beverage were used as real samples for the biosensor validation. The biosensor response to tartrazine showed no significant difference with a standard HPLC method for tartrazine analysis.

Biosensor for metal analysis and speciation

Science.gov (United States)

Aiken, Abigail M.; Peyton, Brent M.; Apel, William A.; Petersen, James N.

2007-01-30

A biosensor for metal analysis and speciation is disclosed. The biosensor comprises an electron carrier immobilized to a surface of an electrode and a layer of an immobilized enzyme adjacent to the electrode. The immobilized enzyme comprises an enzyme having biological activity inhibited by a metal to be detected by the biosensor.

Boron impurity at the Si/SiO2 interface in SOI wafers and consequences for piezoresistive MEMS devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nafari, A; Karlen, D; Enoksson, P; Rusu, C; Svensson, K

2009-01-01

In this work, the electrical performance of piezoresistive devices fabricated on thinned SOI wafers has been investigated. Specifically, SOI wafers manufactured with the standard bond-and-etch back method (BESOI), commonly used for MEMS fabrication, have been studied. Results from electrical measurements and SIMS characterization show the presence of a boron impurity close to the buried oxide, even on unprocessed wafers. If the boron impurity overlaps with the piezoresistors on the device, it can create non-defined pn-junctions and thus allow conduction through the substrate, leading to stray connections and excessive noise. The thickness of the boron impurity can extend up to several µm, thus setting a thickness limit for the thinnest parts of a MEMS device. This work shows how this impurity can fundamentally affect the functionality of piezoresistive devices. Design rules of how to avoid this are presented

Electronic Biosensors Based on III-Nitride Semiconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirste, Ronny; Rohrbaugh, Nathaniel; Bryan, Isaac; Bryan, Zachary; Collazo, Ramon; Ivanisevic, Albena

2015-01-01

We review recent advances of AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT)-based electronic biosensors. We discuss properties and fabrication of III-nitride-based biosensors. Because of their superior biocompatibility and aqueous stability, GaN-based devices are ready to be implemented as next-generation biosensors. We review surface properties, cleaning, and passivation as well as different pathways toward functionalization, and critically analyze III-nitride-based biosensors demonstrated in the literature, including those detecting DNA, bacteria, cancer antibodies, and toxins. We also discuss the high potential of these biosensors for monitoring living cardiac, fibroblast, and nerve cells. Finally, we report on current developments of covalent chemical functionalization of III-nitride devices. Our review concludes with a short outlook on future challenges and projected implementation directions of GaN-based HEMT biosensors.

S-Layer Protein-Based Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernhard Schuster

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The present paper highlights the application of bacterial surface (S- layer proteins as versatile components for the fabrication of biosensors. One technologically relevant feature of S-layer proteins is their ability to self-assemble on many surfaces and interfaces to form a crystalline two-dimensional (2D protein lattice. The S-layer lattice on the surface of a biosensor becomes part of the interface architecture linking the bioreceptor to the transducer interface, which may cause signal amplification. The S-layer lattice as ultrathin, highly porous structure with functional groups in a well-defined special distribution and orientation and an overall anti-fouling characteristics can significantly raise the limit in terms of variety and the ease of bioreceptor immobilization, compactness of bioreceptor molecule arrangement, sensitivity, specificity, and detection limit for many types of biosensors. The present paper discusses and summarizes examples for the successful implementation of S-layer lattices on biosensor surfaces in order to give a comprehensive overview on the application potential of these bioinspired S-layer protein-based biosensors.

S-Layer Protein-Based Biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, Bernhard

2018-04-11

The present paper highlights the application of bacterial surface (S-) layer proteins as versatile components for the fabrication of biosensors. One technologically relevant feature of S-layer proteins is their ability to self-assemble on many surfaces and interfaces to form a crystalline two-dimensional (2D) protein lattice. The S-layer lattice on the surface of a biosensor becomes part of the interface architecture linking the bioreceptor to the transducer interface, which may cause signal amplification. The S-layer lattice as ultrathin, highly porous structure with functional groups in a well-defined special distribution and orientation and an overall anti-fouling characteristics can significantly raise the limit in terms of variety and the ease of bioreceptor immobilization, compactness of bioreceptor molecule arrangement, sensitivity, specificity, and detection limit for many types of biosensors. The present paper discusses and summarizes examples for the successful implementation of S-layer lattices on biosensor surfaces in order to give a comprehensive overview on the application potential of these bioinspired S-layer protein-based biosensors.

Molecular Approaches to Optical Biosensors

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Fierke, Carol

1998-01-01

The goal of this proposal was to develop methodologies for the optimization of field-deployable optical biosensors, in general, and, in particular, to optimize a carbonic anhydrase-based fiber optic zinc biosensor...

Gold nanoparticle-based electrochemical biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pingarron, Jose M.; Yanez-Sedeno, Paloma; Gonzalez-Cortes, Araceli

2008-01-01

The unique properties of gold nanoparticles to provide a suitable microenvironment for biomolecules immobilization retaining their biological activity, and to facilitate electron transfer between the immobilized proteins and electrode surfaces, have led to an intensive use of this nanomaterial for the construction of electrochemical biosensors with enhanced analytical performance with respect to other biosensor designs. Recent advances in this field are reviewed in this article. The advantageous operational characteristics of the biosensing devices designed making use of gold nanoparticles are highlighted with respect to non-nanostructured biosensors and some illustrative examples are commented. Electrochemical enzyme biosensors including those using hybrid materials with carbon nanotubes and polymers, sol-gel matrices, and layer-by-layer architectures are considered. Moreover, electrochemical immunosensors in which gold nanoparticles play a crucial role in the electrode transduction enhancement of the affinity reaction as well as in the efficiency of immunoreagents immobilization in a stable mode are reviewed. Similarly, recent advances in the development of DNA biosensors using gold nanoparticles to improve DNA immobilization on electrode surfaces and as suitable labels to improve detection of hybridization events are considered. Finally, other biosensors designed with gold nanoparticles oriented to electrically contact redox enzymes to electrodes by a reconstitution process and to the study of direct electron transfer between redox proteins and electrode surfaces have also been treated

Gold nanoparticle-based electrochemical biosensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pingarron, Jose M.; Yanez-Sedeno, Paloma; Gonzalez-Cortes, Araceli [Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University Complutense of Madrid, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

2008-08-01

The unique properties of gold nanoparticles to provide a suitable microenvironment for biomolecules immobilization retaining their biological activity, and to facilitate electron transfer between the immobilized proteins and electrode surfaces, have led to an intensive use of this nanomaterial for the construction of electrochemical biosensors with enhanced analytical performance with respect to other biosensor designs. Recent advances in this field are reviewed in this article. The advantageous operational characteristics of the biosensing devices designed making use of gold nanoparticles are highlighted with respect to non-nanostructured biosensors and some illustrative examples are commented. Electrochemical enzyme biosensors including those using hybrid materials with carbon nanotubes and polymers, sol-gel matrices, and layer-by-layer architectures are considered. Moreover, electrochemical immunosensors in which gold nanoparticles play a crucial role in the electrode transduction enhancement of the affinity reaction as well as in the efficiency of immunoreagents immobilization in a stable mode are reviewed. Similarly, recent advances in the development of DNA biosensors using gold nanoparticles to improve DNA immobilization on electrode surfaces and as suitable labels to improve detection of hybridization events are considered. Finally, other biosensors designed with gold nanoparticles oriented to electrically contact redox enzymes to electrodes by a reconstitution process and to the study of direct electron transfer between redox proteins and electrode surfaces have also been treated. (author)

Performance enhancement of a silicon MEMS piezoresistive single axis accelerometer with electroplated gold on a proof mass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravi Sankar, A; Lahiri, S K; Das, S

2009-01-01

Performance enhancement of a silicon MEMS piezoresistive single axis accelerometer with electroplated gold on a proof mass is presented in this paper. The fabricated accelerometer device consists of a heavy proof mass supported by four thin flexures. Boron-diffused piezoresistors located near the fixed ends of the flexures are used for sensing the developed stress and hence acceleration. Performance enhancement is achieved by electroplating a gold mass of 20 µm thickness on top of the proof mass. A commercially available sulfite-based solution TSG-250(TM) was used for the electroplating process. Aluminum metal lines were used to form a Wheatstone bridge for signal pick-up. To avoid galvanic corrosion between two dissimilar metals having contact in an electrolyte, a shadow mask technique was used to selectively deposit a Cr/Au seed layer on an insulator atop the proof mass for subsequent electrodeposition. Bulk micromachining was performed using a 5% dual-doped TMAH solution. Fabricated devices with different electroplated gold areas were tested up to ±13 g acceleration. For electroplated gold dimensions of 2500 µm × 2500 µm × 20 µm on a proof mass, sensitivity along the Z-axis is increased by 21.8% as compared to the structure without gold. Off-axis sensitivities along the X- and Y-axes are reduced by 7.6% and 6.9%, respectively

Resonant Varifocal Micromirror with Piezoresistive Focus Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenta Nakazawa

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper reports a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS resonant varifocal mirror integrated with piezoresistive focus sensor. The varifocal mirror is driven electrostatically at a resonant frequency of a mirror plate to obtain the wide scanning range of a focal length. A piezoresistor is used to monitor the focal length of the varifocal mirror. The device is made of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI wafer and a glass wafer. A mirror plate and a counter electrode are fabricated by a top silicon layer of the SOI wafer and on the glass wafer, respectively. The piezoresistor is fabricated by ion implantation on a supporting beam of the mirror plate. The stress variation of the beam, which is detected by the piezoresistor, correspond the focal length of the varifocal mirror. The focus length varies from −41 to 35 mm at the resonant frequency of 9.5 kHz. The focal length of the varifocal mirror is monitored by the piezoresistor in real time.

Silicon–glass-based single piezoresistive pressure sensors for harsh environment applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

San, Haisheng; Zhang, Hong; Zhang, Qiang; Yu, Yuxi; Chen, Xuyuan

2013-01-01

Silicon–glass (Si–glass)-based single piezoresistive pressure sensors were designed and fabricated by standard MEMS technology. The single piezoresistive sensing element was designed to be on the lower surface of the silicon diaphragm and be vacuum-sealed in a Si–glass cavity, which form a self-packaging protection structure helpful to the applications of sensors in harsh media. The pressure sensors were fabricated using a Si–glass anodic bonding technique, and the embedded Al feedthrough lines at the Si–glass interface are used to realize the electrical connections between the piezo-sensing element and the electrode-pads, and two larger-size electrode-pads are fabricated for realizing the soldered electrical connection between the sensor and the external circuit. The performance of the pressure sensors was characterized by a pressure test system at different temperature conditions. The temperature compensation was performed by the difference between the output voltage at zero-pressure and the output at operation pressure. The measurement results show that the sensitivity is 24 mV V –1 MPa −1 , the coefficient of sensitivity is 0.14% FS °C –1 , and both the zero-point offset and the temperature coefficient of offset are equal to zero, which are able to meet the commercial application requirements. However, a nonlinearity of 5.2% FS caused by the balloon effect would considerably worsen the accuracy of the pressure sensor. It is suggested to reduce the balloon effect by using a bossed-diaphragm structure in the pressure sensor. (paper)

Electrodeposition of enzymes-integrated mesoporous composite films by interfacial templating: A paradigm for electrochemical biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Dongming; Tan, Yiwei

2014-01-01

The development of nanostructured electrodes for electrochemical biosensors is of significant interest for modern detection, portable devices, and enhanced performance. However, development of such sensors still remains challenging due to the time-consuming, detriment-to-nature, and costly modifications of both electrodes and enzymes. In this work, we report a simple one-step approach to fabricating high-performance, direct electron transfer (DET) based nanoporous enzyme-embedded electrodes by electrodeposition coupled with recent progress in potential-controlled interfacial surfactant assemblies. In contrast to those previously electrodeposited mesoporous materials that are not bioactive, we imparted the biofunctionality to electrodeposited mesoporous thin films by means of the amphiphilic phospholipid templates strongly interacting with enzymes. Thus, phospholipid-templated mesoporous ZnO films covalently inlaid with the pristine enzymes were prepared by simple one-step electrodeposition. We further demonstrate two examples of such hybrid film electrodes embedded with alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and glucose oxidase (GOx), which are effectively employed as electrochemical biosensors for amperometric sensing of ethanol and glucose without using any electron relays. The favorable mass transport and large contact surface area provided by nanopores play an important role in improving the performance of these two biosensors, such as excellent sensitivities, low detection limits, and fast response. The matrix mesoporous films acting as effective electronic bridges are responsible for DET between enzyme molecules and metal electrode

Progress of new label-free techniques for biosensors: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, Shengbo; Wang, Yajun; Feng, Qiliang; Wei, Ye; Ji, Jianlong; Zhang, Wendong

2016-01-01

The detection techniques used in biosensors can be broadly classified into label-based and label-free. Label-based detection relies on the specific properties of labels for detecting a particular target. In contrast, label-free detection is suitable for the target molecules that are not labeled or the screening of analytes which are not easy to tag. Also, more types of label-free biosensors have emerged with developments in biotechnology. The latest developed techniques in label-free biosensors, such as field-effect transistors-based biosensors including carbon nanotube field-effect transistor biosensors, graphene field-effect transistor biosensors and silicon nanowire field-effect transistor biosensors, magnetoelastic biosensors, optical-based biosensors, surface stress-based biosensors and other type of biosensors based on the nanotechnology are discussed. The sensing principles, configurations, sensing performance, applications, advantages and restriction of different label-free based biosensors are considered and discussed in this review. Most concepts included in this survey could certainly be applied to the development of this kind of biosensor in the future.

VHF NEMS-CMOS piezoresistive resonators for advanced sensing applications

Science.gov (United States)

Arcamone, Julien; Dupré, Cécilia; Arndt, Grégory; Colinet, Eric; Hentz, Sébastien; Ollier, Eric; Duraffourg, Laurent

2014-10-01

This work reports on top-down nanoelectromechanical resonators, which are among the smallest resonators listed in the literature. To overcome the fact that their electromechanical transduction is intrinsically very challenging due to their very high frequency (100 MHz) and ultimate size (each resonator is a 1.2 μm long, 100 nm wide, 20 nm thick silicon beam with 100 nm long and 30 nm wide piezoresistive lateral nanowire gauges), they have been monolithically integrated with an advanced fully depleted SOI CMOS technology. By advantageously combining the unique benefits of nanomechanics and nanoelectronics, this hybrid NEMS-CMOS device paves the way for novel breakthrough applications, such as NEMS-based mass spectrometry or hybrid NEMS/CMOS logic, which cannot be fully implemented without this association.

Embedding Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors to Obtain Online Pressure Profiles Inside Fiber Composite Laminates

OpenAIRE

Kahali Moghaddam, Maryam; Breede, Arne; Brauner, Christian; Lang, Walter

2015-01-01

The production of large and complex parts using fiber composite materials is costly due to the frequent formation of voids, porosity and waste products. By embedding different types of sensors and monitoring the process in real time, the amount of wastage can be significantly reduced. This work focuses on developing a knowledge-based method to improve and ensure complete impregnation of the fibers before initiation of the resin cure. Piezoresistive and capacitive pressure sensors were embedde...

Influence of residual stress on diffusion-induced bending in bilayered microcantilever sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xuan Fuzhen; Shao Shanshan; Wang Zhengdong; Tu Shantung

2010-01-01

The influence of residual stress on diffusion-induced bending in bilayered microcantilever sensors has been analyzed under the framework of thermodynamic theory and Fick's second law. A self-consistent diffusion equation involving the coupling effects of residual stress and diffusion-induced stress is developed. Effects of thickness ratio, modulus ratio, diffusivity ratio and residual stress gradient of film and substrate on the curvature of bilayered cantilever are then discussed with the help of finite difference method. Results reveal that the curvature of bilayered cantilever increases with decreasing the diffusivity ratio and modulus ratio of substrate to film at a given time. Case study of the polysilicon/palladium hydrogen sensor has been finally carried out using the above developed bending theory.

Fabrication and characterization of monolithic piezoresistive high-g three-axis accelerometer

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Han-Il; Kwon, Dae-Sung; Kim, Jongbaeg

2017-12-01

We report piezoresistive high-g three-axis accelerometer with a single proof mass suspended by thin eight beams. This eight-beam design allows load-sharing at high-g preventing structural breakage, as well as the symmetric arrangement of piezoresistors. The device chip size is 1.4 mm × 1.4 mm × 0.51 mm. Experimental results show that the sensitivity in X-, Y- and Z-axes are 0.2433, 0.1308 and 0.3068 mV/g/V under 5 V applied and the resolutions are 24.2, 29.9 and 25.4 g, respectively.

Lightweight, compressible and electrically conductive polyurethane sponges coated with synergistic multiwalled carbon nanotubes and graphene for piezoresistive sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Zhonglei; Wei, Ajing; Ma, Jianzhong; Shao, Liang; Jiang, Huie; Dong, Diandian; Ji, Zhanyou; Wang, Qian; Kang, Songlei

2018-04-19

Lightweight, compressible and highly sensitive pressure/strain sensing materials are highly desirable for the development of health monitoring, wearable devices and artificial intelligence. Herein, a very simple, low-cost and solution-based approach is presented to fabricate versatile piezoresistive sensors based on conductive polyurethane (PU) sponges coated with synergistic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene. These sensor materials are fabricated by convenient dip-coating layer-by-layer (LBL) electrostatic assembly followed by in situ reduction without using any complicated microfabrication processes. The resultant conductive MWCNT/RGO@PU sponges exhibit very low densities (0.027-0.064 g cm-3), outstanding compressibility (up to 75%) and high electrical conductivity benefiting from the porous PU sponges and synergistic conductive MWCNT/RGO structures. In addition, the MWCNT/RGO@PU sponges present larger relative resistance changes and superior sensing performances under external applied pressures (0-5.6 kPa) and a wide range of strains (0-75%) compared with the RGO@PU and MWCNT@PU sponges, due to the synergistic effect of multiple mechanisms: "disconnect-connect" transition of nanogaps, microcracks and fractured skeletons at low compression strain and compressive contact of the conductive skeletons at high compression strain. The electrical and piezoresistive properties of MWCNT/RGO@PU sponges are strongly associated with the dip-coating cycle, suspension concentration, and the applied pressure and strain. Fully functional applications of MWCNT/RGO@PU sponge-based piezoresistive sensors in lighting LED lamps and detecting human body movements are demonstrated, indicating their excellent potential for emerging applications such as health monitoring, wearable devices and artificial intelligence.

Improved biosensor-based detection system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2015-01-01

Described is a new biosensor-based detection system for effector compounds, useful for in vivo applications in e.g. screening and selecting of cells which produce a small molecule effector compound or which take up a small molecule effector compound from its environment. The detection system...... comprises a protein or RNA-based biosensor for the effector compound which indirectly regulates the expression of a reporter gene via two hybrid proteins, providing for fewer false signals or less 'noise', tuning of sensitivity or other advantages over conventional systems where the biosensor directly...

Development of electrochemical biosensors with various types of zeolites

Science.gov (United States)

Soldatkina, O. V.; Kucherenko, I. S.; Soldatkin, O. O.; Pyeshkova, V. M.; Dudchenko, O. Y.; Akata Kurç, B.; Dzyadevych, S. V.

2018-03-01

In the work, different types of zeolites were used for the development of enzyme-based electrochemical biosensors. Zeolites were added to the biorecognition elements of the biosensors and served as additional components of the biomembranes or adsorbents for enzymes. Three types of biosensors (conductometric, amperometric and potentiometric) were studied. The developed biosensors were compared with the similar biosensors without zeolites. The biosensors contained the following enzymes: urease, glucose oxidase, glutamate oxidase, and acetylcholinesterase and were intended for the detection of urea, glucose, glutamate, and acetylcholine, respectively. Construction of the biosensors using the adsorption of enzymes on zeolites has several advantages: simplicity, good reproducibility, quickness, absence of toxic compounds. These benefits are particularly important for the standardization and further mass production of the biosensors. Furthermore, a biosensor for the sucrose determination contained a three-enzyme system (invertase/mutatorase/glucose oxidase), immobilized by a combination of adsorption on silicalite and cross-linking via glutaraldehyde; such combined immobilization demonstrated better results as compared with adsorption or cross-linking separately. The analysis of urea and sucrose concentrations in the real samples was carried out. The results, obtained with biosensors, had high correlation with the results of traditional analytical methods, thus the developed biosensors are promising for practical applications.

Highly Sensitive Electromechanical Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors Based on Large-Area Layered PtSe2 Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Stefan; Yim, Chanyoung; McEvoy, Niall; Kataria, Satender; Yokaribas, Volkan; Kuc, Agnieszka; Pindl, Stephan; Fritzen, Claus-Peter; Heine, Thomas; Duesberg, Georg S; Lemme, Max C

2018-05-23

Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials are ideal for micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) due to their ultimate thinness. Platinum diselenide (PtSe 2 ), an exciting and unexplored 2D transition metal dichalcogenide material, is particularly interesting because its low temperature growth process is scalable and compatible with silicon technology. Here, we report the potential of thin PtSe 2 films as electromechanical piezoresistive sensors. All experiments have been conducted with semimetallic PtSe 2 films grown by thermally assisted conversion of platinum at a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible temperature of 400 °C. We report high negative gauge factors of up to -85 obtained experimentally from PtSe 2 strain gauges in a bending cantilever beam setup. Integrated NEMS piezoresistive pressure sensors with freestanding PMMA/PtSe 2 membranes confirm the negative gauge factor and exhibit very high sensitivity, outperforming previously reported values by orders of magnitude. We employ density functional theory calculations to understand the origin of the measured negative gauge factor. Our results suggest PtSe 2 as a very promising candidate for future NEMS applications, including integration into CMOS production lines.

Strain gauge sensors comprised of carbon nanotube yarn: parametric numerical analysis of their piezoresistive response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abot, Jandro L; Kiyono, César Y; Thomas, Gilles P; Silva, Emílio C N

2015-01-01

Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns are micron-size fibers that contain thousands of intertwined CNTs in their cross sections and exhibit piezoresistance characteristics that can be tapped for sensing purposes. Sensor yarns can be integrated into polymeric and composite materials to measure strain through resistance measurements without adding weight or altering the integrity of the host material. This paper includes the details of novel strain gauge sensor configurations comprised of CNT yarn, the numerical modeling of their piezoresistive response, and the parametric analysis schemes that determines the highest sensor sensitivity to mechanical loading. The effect of several sensor configuration parameters are discussed including the inclination and separation of the CNT yarns within the sensor, the mechanical properties of the CNT yarn, the direction and magnitude of the applied mechanical load, and the dimensions and shape of the sensor. The sensor configurations that yield the highest sensitivity are presented and discussed in terms of the mechanical and electrical properties of the CNT yarn. It is shown that strain gauge sensors consisting of CNT yarn are sensitive enough to measure strain, and could exhibit even higher gauge factors than those of metallic foil strain gauges. (paper)

Characterization of piesoelectric ZnO thin films and the fabrication of piezoelectric micro-cantilevers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, Raegan Lynn [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2005-01-01

In Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), a microcantilever is raster scanned across the surface of a sample in order to obtain a topographical image of the sample's surface. In a traditional, optical AFM, the sample rests on a bulk piezoelectric tube and a control loop is used to control the tip-sample separation by actuating the piezo-tube. This method has several disadvantages--the most noticeable one being that response time of the piezo-tube is rather long which leads to slow imaging speeds. One possible solution aimed at improving the speed of imaging is to incorporate a thin piezoelectric film on top of the cantilever beam. This design not only improves the speed of imaging because the piezoelectric film replaces the piezo-tube as an actuator, but the film can also act as a sensor. In addition, the piezoelectric film can excite the cantilever beam near its resonance frequency. This project aims to fabricate piezoelectric microcantilevers for use in the AFM. Prior to fabricating the cantilevers and also part of this project, a systematic study was performed to examine the effects of deposition conditions on the quality of piezoelectric ZnO thin films deposited by RF sputtering. These results will be presented. The deposition parameters that produced the highest quality ZnO film were used in the fabrication of the piezoelectric cantilevers. Unfortunately, the fabricated cantilevers warped due to the intrinsic stress of the ZnO film and were therefore not usable in the AFM. The complete fabrication process will be detailed, the results will be discussed and reasons for the warping will be examined.

Triggered optical biosensor

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xuedong; Swanson, Basil I.

2001-10-02

An optical biosensor is provided for the detection of a multivalent target biomolecule, the biosensor including a substrate having a bilayer membrane thereon, a recognition molecule situated at the surface, the recognition molecule capable of binding with the multivalent target biomolecule, the recognition molecule further characterized as including a fluorescence label thereon and as being movable at the surface and a device for measuring a fluorescence change in response to binding between the recognition molecule and the multivalent target biomolecule.

Piezoresistive Carbon-based Hybrid Sensor for Body-Mounted Biomedical Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Melnykowycz, M.; Tschudin, M.; Clemens, F.

2017-02-01

For body-mounted sensor applications, the evolution of soft condensed matter sensor (SCMS) materials offer conformability andit enables mechanical compliance between the body surface and the sensing mechanism. A piezoresistive hybrid sensor and compliant meta-material sub-structure provided a way to engineer sensor physical designs through modification of the mechanical properties of the compliant design. A piezoresistive fiber sensor was produced by combining a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) matrix with Carbon Black (CB) particles in 1:1 mass ratio. Feedstock was extruded in monofilament fiber form (diameter of 300 microns), resulting in a highly stretchable sensor (strain sensor range up to 100%) with linear resistance signal response. The soft condensed matter sensor was integrated into a hybrid design including a 3D printed metamaterial structure combined with a soft silicone. An auxetic unit cell was chosen (with negative Poisson’s Ratio) in the design in order to combine with the soft silicon, which exhibits a high Poisson’s Ratio. The hybrid sensor design was subjected to mechanical tensile testing up to 50% strain (with gauge factor calculation for sensor performance), and then utilized for strain-based sensing applications on the body including gesture recognition and vital function monitoring including blood pulse-wave and breath monitoring. A 10 gesture Natural User Interface (NUI) test protocol was utilized to show the effectiveness of a single wrist-mounted sensor to identify discrete gestures including finger and hand motions. These hand motions were chosen specifically for Human Computer Interaction (HCI) applications. The blood pulse-wave signal was monitored with the hand at rest, in a wrist-mounted. In addition different breathing patterns were investigated, including normal breathing and coughing, using a belt and chest-mounted configuration.

Biosensors based on nanomaterials and nanodevices

CERN Document Server

Li, Jun

2013-01-01

Biosensors Based on Nanomaterials and Nanodevices links interdisciplinary research from leading experts to provide graduate students, academics, researchers, and industry professionals alike with a comprehensive source for key advancements and future trends in nanostructured biosensor development. It describes the concepts, principles, materials, device fabrications, functions, system integrations, and applications of various types of biosensors based on signal transduction mechanisms, including fluorescence, photonic crystal, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, electrochemistry, electro-lumine

Optimization of Xenon Biosensors for Detection of Protein Interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowery, Thomas J.; Garcia, Sandra; Chavez, Lana; Ruiz, E.Janette; Wu, Tom; Brotin, Thierry; Dutasta, Jean-Pierre; King, David S.; Schultz, Peter G.; Pines, Alex; Wemmer, David E.

2005-08-01

Hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR can detect the presence of specific low-concentration biomolecular analytes by means of the xenon biosensor, which consists of a water-soluble, targeted cryptophane-A cage that encapsulates xenon. In this work we use the prototypical biotinylated xenon biosensor to determine the relationship between the molecular composition of the xenon biosensor and the characteristics of protein-bound resonances. The effects of diastereomer overlap, dipole-dipole coupling, chemical shift anisotropy, xenon exchange, and biosensor conformational exchange on protein-bound biosensor signal were assessed. It was found that optimal protein-bound biosensor signal can be obtained by minimizing the number of biosensor diastereomers and using a flexible linker of appropriate length. Both the linewidth and sensitivity of chemical shift to protein binding of the xenon biosensor were found to be inversely proportional to linker length

Yeast-based biosensors: design and applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Adeniran, Adebola; Sherer, Michael; Tyo, Keith E J

2015-02-01

Yeast-based biosensing (YBB) is an exciting research area, as many studies have demonstrated the use of yeasts to accurately detect specific molecules. Biosensors incorporating various yeasts have been reported to detect an incredibly large range of molecules including but not limited to odorants, metals, intracellular metabolites, carcinogens, lactate, alcohols, and sugars. We review the detection strategies available for different types of analytes, as well as the wide range of output methods that have been incorporated with yeast biosensors. We group biosensors into two categories: those that are dependent upon transcription of a gene to report the detection of a desired molecule and those that are independent of this reporting mechanism. Transcription-dependent biosensors frequently depend on heterologous expression of sensing elements from non-yeast organisms, a strategy that has greatly expanded the range of molecules available for detection by YBBs. Transcription-independent biosensors circumvent the problem of sensing difficult-to-detect analytes by instead relying on yeast metabolism to generate easily detected molecules when the analyte is present. The use of yeast as the sensing element in biosensors has proven to be successful and continues to hold great promise for a variety of applications. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.

Adsorption kinetics and mechanical properties of thiol-modified DNA-oligos on gold investigated by microcantilever sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marie, Rodolphe Charly Willy; Jensenius, Henriette; Thaysen, Jacob

2002-01-01

on the gold surface after which a significant unspecific adsorption takes place on top of the first DNA-oligo layer. The cantilever-based sensor principle has a wide range of applications in real-time local monitoring of chemical and biological interactions as well as in the detection of specific DNA......Immobilised DNA-oligo layers are scientifically and technologically appealing for a wide range of sensor applications such as DNA chips. Using microcantilever-based sensors with integrated readout, we demonstrate in situ quantitative studies of surface-stress formation during self-assembly of a 25...

Fiber optic-based biosensor

Science.gov (United States)

Ligler, Frances S.

1991-01-01

The NRL fiber optic biosensor is a device which measures the formation of a fluorescent complex at the surface of an optical fiber. Antibodies and DNA binding proteins provide the mechanism for recognizing an analyze and immobilizing a fluorescent complex on the fiber surface. The fiber optic biosensor is fast, sensitive, and permits analysis of hazardous materials remote from the instrumentation. The fiber optic biosensor is described in terms of the device configuration, chemistry for protein immobilization, and assay development. A lab version is being used for assay development and performance characterization while a portable device is under development. Antibodies coated on the fiber are stable for up to two years of storage prior to use. The fiber optic biosensor was used to measure concentration of toxins in the parts per billion (ng/ml) range in under a minute. Immunoassays for small molecules and whole bacteria are under development. Assays using DNA probes as the detection element can also be used with the fiber optic sensor, which is currently being developed to detect biological warfare agents, explosives, pathogens, and toxic materials which pollute the environment.

Functionalized Palladium Nanoparticles for Hydrogen Peroxide Biosensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Baccar

2011-01-01

Full Text Available We present a comparison between two biosensors for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 detection. The first biosensor was developed by the immobilization of Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP enzyme on thiol-modified gold electrode. The second biosensor was developed by the immobilization of cysteamine functionalizing palladium nanoparticles on modified gold surface. The amino groups can be activated with glutaraldehyde for horseradish peroxidase immobilization. The detection of hydrogen peroxide was successfully observed in PBS for both biosensors using the cyclic voltammetry and the chronoamperometry techniques. The results show that the limit detection depends on the large surface-to-volume ratio attained with palladium nanoparticles. The second biosensor presents a better detection limit of 7.5 μM in comparison with the first one which is equal to 75 μM.

Affinity biosensors: techniques and protocols

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Rogers, Kim R; Mulchandani, Ashok

1998-01-01

..., and government to begin or expand their biosensors research. This volume, Methods in Biotechnology vol. 7: Affinity Biosensors: Techniques and Protocols, describes a variety of classical and emerging transduction technologies that have been interfaced to bioaffinity elements (e.g., antibodies and receptors). Some of the reas...

Synthetic biology for microbial heavy metal biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hyun Ju; Jeong, Haeyoung; Lee, Sang Jun

2018-02-01

Using recombinant DNA technology, various whole-cell biosensors have been developed for detection of environmental pollutants, including heavy metal ions. Whole-cell biosensors have several advantages: easy and inexpensive cultivation, multiple assays, and no requirement of any special techniques for analysis. In the era of synthetic biology, cutting-edge DNA sequencing and gene synthesis technologies have accelerated the development of cell-based biosensors. Here, we summarize current technological advances in whole-cell heavy metal biosensors, including the synthetic biological components (bioparts), sensing and reporter modules, genetic circuits, and chassis cells. We discuss several opportunities for improvement of synthetic cell-based biosensors. First, new functional modules must be discovered in genome databases, and this knowledge must be used to upgrade specific bioparts through molecular engineering. Second, modules must be assembled into functional biosystems in chassis cells. Third, heterogeneity of individual cells in the microbial population must be eliminated. In the perspectives, the development of whole-cell biosensors is also discussed in the aspects of cultivation methods and synthetic cells.

Biosensor Architectures for High-Fidelity Reporting of Cellular Signaling

Science.gov (United States)

Dushek, Omer; Lellouch, Annemarie C.; Vaux, David J.; Shahrezaei, Vahid

2014-01-01

Understanding mechanisms of information processing in cellular signaling networks requires quantitative measurements of protein activities in living cells. Biosensors are molecular probes that have been developed to directly track the activity of specific signaling proteins and their use is revolutionizing our understanding of signal transduction. The use of biosensors relies on the assumption that their activity is linearly proportional to the activity of the signaling protein they have been engineered to track. We use mechanistic mathematical models of common biosensor architectures (single-chain FRET-based biosensors), which include both intramolecular and intermolecular reactions, to study the validity of the linearity assumption. As a result of the classic mechanism of zero-order ultrasensitivity, we find that biosensor activity can be highly nonlinear so that small changes in signaling protein activity can give rise to large changes in biosensor activity and vice versa. This nonlinearity is abolished in architectures that favor the formation of biosensor oligomers, but oligomeric biosensors produce complicated FRET states. Based on this finding, we show that high-fidelity reporting is possible when a single-chain intermolecular biosensor is used that cannot undergo intramolecular reactions and is restricted to forming dimers. We provide phase diagrams that compare various trade-offs, including observer effects, which further highlight the utility of biosensor architectures that favor intermolecular over intramolecular binding. We discuss challenges in calibrating and constructing biosensors and highlight the utility of mathematical models in designing novel probes for cellular signaling. PMID:25099816

Recent Development in Optical Fiber Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catalina Bosch Ojeda

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Remarkable developments can be seen in the field of optical fibre biosensors in the last decade. More sensors for specific analytes have been reported, novel sensing chemistries or transduction principles have been introduced, and applications in various analytical fields have been realised. This review consists of papers mainly reported in the last decade and presents about applications of optical fiber biosensors. Discussions on the trends in optical fiber biosensor applications in real samples are enumerated.

Review of Micro/Nanotechnologies for Microbial Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji Won eLim

2015-05-01

Full Text Available A microbial biosensor is an analytical device with a biologically integrated transducer that generates a measurable signal indicating the analyte concentration. This method is ideally suited for the analysis of extracellular chemicals and the environment, and for metabolic sensory-regulation. Although microbial biosensors show promise for application in various detection fields, some limitations still remain such as poor selectivity, low sensitivity, and impractical portability. To overcome such limitations, microbial biosensors have been integrated with many recently developed micro/nanotechnologies and applied to a wide range of detection purposes. This review article discusses micro/nanotechnologies that have been integrated with microbial biosensors and summarizes recent advances and the applications achieved through such novel integration. Future perspectives on the combination of micro/nanotechnologies and microbial biosensors will be discussed, and the necessary developments and improvements will be strategically deliberated.

NANOSCALE BIOSENSORS IN ECOSYSTEM EXPOSURE RESEARCH

Science.gov (United States)

This powerpoint presentation presented information on nanoscale biosensors in ecosystem exposure research. The outline of the presentation is as follows: nanomaterials environmental exposure research; US agencies involved in nanosensor research; nanoscale LEDs in biosensors; nano...

Biosensor. Seitai sensa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karube, I [The Univ. of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan). Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology

1993-06-15

Present state of the art of biosensors is described by taking taste sensors and odor sensors as examples. Bio-devices that response only to specific chemical substances are made using membranes that recognize particular molecules. Biosensors are constructed in combination of bio-devices with electronics devices that transduce the response of bio-devices to electric signals. Enzymes are used often as bio-devices to recognize molecules. They recognize strictly chemical substances and promote chemical reactions. Devices to measure electrochemically substances consumed or produced in the reactions serve as sensors. For taste sensors, inosinic acid or glutamic acid that is a component of taste, is recognized and measured. Combination of various bio-devices other than enzymes with various transducers makes it possible to produce biosensors based on a variety of principles. Odor sensors recognize odors by measuring frequency change of the electrode of quartz oscillator. The change occurs with weight change due to odorous substances absorbed on the oscillator electrode coated with lipids which exist in olfactory cells. 1 ref., 1 fig.

Nanomaterials based biosensors for cancer biomarker detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malhotra, Bansi D; Kumar, Saurabh; Pandey, Chandra Mouli

2016-01-01

Biosensors have enormous potential to contribute to the evolution of new molecular diagnostic techniques for patients suffering with cancerous diseases. A major obstacle preventing faster development of biosensors pertains to the fact that cancer is a highly complex set of diseases. The oncologists currently rely on a few biomarkers and histological characterization of tumors. Some of the signatures include epigenetic and genetic markers, protein profiles, changes in gene expression, and post-translational modifications of proteins. These molecular signatures offer new opportunities for development of biosensors for cancer detection. In this context, conducting paper has recently been found to play an important role towards the fabrication of a biosensor for cancer biomarker detection. In this paper we will focus on results of some of the recent studies obtained in our laboratories relating to fabrication and application of nanomaterial modified paper based biosensors for cancer biomarker detection. (paper)

In vitro evaluation of fluorescence glucose biosensor response.

Science.gov (United States)

Aloraefy, Mamdouh; Pfefer, T Joshua; Ramella-Roman, Jessica C; Sapsford, Kim E

2014-07-08

Rapid, accurate, and minimally-invasive glucose biosensors based on Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) for glucose measurement have the potential to enhance diabetes control. However, a standard set of in vitro approaches for evaluating optical glucose biosensor response under controlled conditions would facilitate technological innovation and clinical translation. Towards this end, we have identified key characteristics and response test methods, fabricated FRET-based glucose biosensors, and characterized biosensor performance using these test methods. The biosensors were based on competitive binding between dextran and glucose to concanavalin A and incorporated long-wavelength fluorescence dye pairs. Testing characteristics included spectral response, linearity, sensitivity, limit of detection, kinetic response, reversibility, stability, precision, and accuracy. The biosensor demonstrated a fluorescence change of 45% in the presence of 400 mg/dL glucose, a mean absolute relative difference of less than 11%, a limit of detection of 25 mg/dL, a response time of 15 min, and a decay in fluorescence intensity of 72% over 30 days. The battery of tests presented here for objective, quantitative in vitro evaluation of FRET glucose biosensors performance have the potential to form the basis of future consensus standards. By implementing these test methods for a long-visible-wavelength biosensor, we were able to demonstrate strengths and weaknesses with a new level of thoroughness and rigor.

In Vitro Evaluation of Fluorescence Glucose Biosensor Response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mamdouh Aloraefy

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Rapid, accurate, and minimally-invasive glucose biosensors based on Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET for glucose measurement have the potential to enhance diabetes control. However, a standard set of in vitro approaches for evaluating optical glucose biosensor response under controlled conditions would facilitate technological innovation and clinical translation. Towards this end, we have identified key characteristics and response test methods, fabricated FRET-based glucose biosensors, and characterized biosensor performance using these test methods. The biosensors were based on competitive binding between dextran and glucose to concanavalin A and incorporated long-wavelength fluorescence dye pairs. Testing characteristics included spectral response, linearity, sensitivity, limit of detection, kinetic response, reversibility, stability, precision, and accuracy. The biosensor demonstrated a fluorescence change of 45% in the presence of 400 mg/dL glucose, a mean absolute relative difference of less than 11%, a limit of detection of 25 mg/dL, a response time of 15 min, and a decay in fluorescence intensity of 72% over 30 days. The battery of tests presented here for objective, quantitative in vitro evaluation of FRET glucose biosensors performance have the potential to form the basis of future consensus standards. By implementing these test methods for a long-visible-wavelength biosensor, we were able to demonstrate strengths and weaknesses with a new level of thoroughness and rigor.

Modification of silicon nitride and silicon carbide surfaces for food and biosensor applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosso, M.

2009-01-01

Silicon-rich silicon nitride (SixN4, x > 3) is a robust insulating material widely used for the coating of microdevices: its high chemical and mechanical inertness make it a material of choice for the reinforcement of fragile microstructures (e.g. suspended microcantilevers, micro-fabricated

Pull-in behavior analysis of vibrating functionally graded micro-cantilevers under suddenly DC voltage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamal Zare

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The present research attempts to explain dynamic pull-in instability of functionally graded micro-cantilevers actuated by step DC voltage while the fringing-field effect is taken into account in the vibrational equation of motion. By employing modern asymptotic approach namely Homotopy Perturbation Method with an auxiliary term, high-order frequency-amplitude relation is obtained, then the influences of material properties and actuation voltage on dynamic pull-in behavior are investigated. It is demonstrated that the auxiliary term in the homotopy perturbation method is extremely effective for higher order approximation and two terms in series expansions are sufficient to produce an acceptable solution. The strength of this analytical procedure is verified through comparison with numerical results.

Protein Detection with Aptamer Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina Stoltenburg

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Aptamers have been developed for different applications. Their use as new biological recognition elements in biosensors promises progress for fast and easy detection of proteins. This new generation of biosensor (aptasensors will be more stable and well adapted to the conditions of real samples because of the specific properties of aptamers.

Recent Progress in Lectin-Based Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baozhen Wang

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article reviews recent progress in the development of lectin-based biosensors used for the determination of glucose, pathogenic bacteria and toxins, cancer cells, and lectins. Lectin proteins have been widely used for the construction of optical and electrochemical biosensors by exploiting the specific binding affinity to carbohydrates. Among lectin proteins, concanavalin A (Con A is most frequently used for this purpose as glucose- and mannose-selective lectin. Con A is useful for immobilizing enzymes including glucose oxidase (GOx and horseradish peroxidase (HRP on the surface of a solid support to construct glucose and hydrogen peroxide sensors, because these enzymes are covered with intrinsic hydrocarbon chains. Con A-modified electrodes can be used as biosensors sensitive to glucose, cancer cells, and pathogenic bacteria covered with hydrocarbon chains. The target substrates are selectively adsorbed to the surface of Con A-modified electrodes through strong affinity of Con A to hydrocarbon chains. A recent topic in the development of lectin-based biosensors is a successful use of nanomaterials, such as metal nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes, for amplifying output signals of the sensors. In addition, lectin-based biosensors are useful for studying glycan expression on living cells.

Novel amperometric glucose biosensor based on MXene nanocomposite

KAUST Repository

Rakhi, R. B.

2016-11-10

A biosensor platform based on Au/MXene nanocomposite for sensitive enzymatic glucose detection is reported. The biosensor leverages the unique electrocatalytic properties and synergistic effects between Au nanoparticles and MXene sheets. An amperometric glucose biosensor is fabricated by the immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme on Nafion solubilized Au/ MXene nanocomposite over glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The biomediated Au nanoparticles play a significant role in facilitating the electron exchange between the electroactive center of GOx and the electrode. The GOx/Au/MXene/Nafion/GCE biosensor electrode displayed a linear amperometric response in the glucose concentration range from 0.1 to 18 mM with a relatively high sensitivity of 4.2 μAmM−1 cm−2 and a detection limit of 5.9 μM (S/N = 3). Furthermore, the biosensor exhibited excellent stability, reproducibility and repeatability. Therefore, the Au/MXene nanocomposite reported in this work is a potential candidate as an electrochemical transducer in electrochemical biosensors.

Novel amperometric glucose biosensor based on MXene nanocomposite

KAUST Repository

Baby, Rakhi Raghavan; Nayuk, Pranati; Xia, Chuan; Alshareef, Husam N.

2016-01-01

A biosensor platform based on Au/MXene nanocomposite for sensitive enzymatic glucose detection is reported. The biosensor leverages the unique electrocatalytic properties and synergistic effects between Au nanoparticles and MXene sheets. An amperometric glucose biosensor is fabricated by the immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme on Nafion solubilized Au/ MXene nanocomposite over glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The biomediated Au nanoparticles play a significant role in facilitating the electron exchange between the electroactive center of GOx and the electrode. The GOx/Au/MXene/Nafion/GCE biosensor electrode displayed a linear amperometric response in the glucose concentration range from 0.1 to 18 mM with a relatively high sensitivity of 4.2 μAmM−1 cm−2 and a detection limit of 5.9 μM (S/N = 3). Furthermore, the biosensor exhibited excellent stability, reproducibility and repeatability. Therefore, the Au/MXene nanocomposite reported in this work is a potential candidate as an electrochemical transducer in electrochemical biosensors.

Polymer Based Biosensors for Medical Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cherré, Solène; Rozlosnik, Noemi

2015-01-01

, environmental monitoring and food safety. The detected element varies from a single molecule (such as glucose), a biopolymer (such as DNA or a protein) to a whole organism (such as bacteria). Due to their easy use and possible miniaturization, biosensors have a high potential to come out of the lab...... and be available for use by everybody. To fulfil these purposes, polymers represent very appropriate materials. Many nano- and microfabrication methods for polymers are available, allowing a fast and cheap production of devices. This chapter will present the general concept of a biosensor in a first part......The objective of this chapter is to give an overview about the newest developments in biosensors made of polymers for medical applications. Biosensors are devices that can recognize and detect a target with high selectivity. They are widely used in many fields such as medical diagnostic...

Biosensors a promising future in measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saleem, Muhammad

2013-01-01

A biosensor is an analytical device which can be used to convert the existence of a molecule or compound into a measurable and useful signal. Biosensors use stimulus to translate changes to recognisable signals and have great importance to society. Applications include diagnosis tools for diseases, security appliances, and other biomedical equipments. Biosensors can also be used in the detection of pathogens and other microbes in foodstuffs, drugs and processing industries. Enormous progress and advancement has been witnessed in this area. Research and development in micro level systems serves to interface biology with novel materials such as nanomaterial. Development of high speed and accurate electronic devices tfor use in medicine and energy storage (such as biofuel cells) is one of the target areas. This paper discusses the importance, use and current and future trend in the application of biosensors

Prospects of conducting polymers in biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malhotra, Bansi D.; Chaubey, Asha; Singh, S.P.

2006-01-01

Applications of conducting polymers to biosensors have recently aroused much interest. This is because these molecular electronic materials offer control of different parameters such as polymer layer thickness, electrical properties and bio-reagent loading, etc. Moreover, conducting polymer based biosensors are likely to cater to the pressing requirements such as biocompatibility, possibility of in vivo sensing, continuous monitoring of drugs or metabolites, multi-parametric assays, miniaturization and high information density. This paper deals with the emerging trends in conducting polymer based biosensors during the last about 5 years

Deep-probe metal-clad waveguide biosensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skivesen, Nina; Horvath, Robert; Thinggaard, S.

2007-01-01

Two types of metal-clad waveguide biosensors, so-called dip-type and peak-type, are analyzed and tested. Their performances are benchmarked against the well-known surface-plasmon resonance biosensor, showing improved probe characteristics for adlayer thicknesses above 150-200 nm. The dip-type metal-clad...... waveguide sensor is shown to be the best all-round alternative to the surface-plasmon resonance biosensor. Both metal-clad waveguides are tested experimentally for cell detection, showing a detection linut of 8-9 cells/mm(2). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved....

ZnO nanowire-based glucose biosensors with different coupling agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Juneui [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Sangwoo, E-mail: swlim@yonsei.ac.kr [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2013-01-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Fabrication of ZnO nanowire-based glucose biosensors using different coupling agents. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Highest sensitivity for (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane-treated biosensor. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Larger amount of glucose oxidase and lower electron transfer resistance for (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane-treated biosensor. - Abstract: ZnO-nanowire-based glucose biosensors were fabricated by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) onto a linker attached to ZnO nanowires. Different coupling agents were used, namely (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS), (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), and (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane (APS), to increase the affinity of GOx binding to ZnO nanowires. The amount of GOx immobilized on the ZnO nanowires, the performance, sensitivity, and Michaelis-Menten constant of each biosensor, and the electron transfer resistance through the biosensor were all measured in order to investigate the effect of the coupling agent on the ZnO nanowire-based biosensor. Among the different biosensors, the APS-treated biosensor had the highest sensitivity (17.72 {mu}A cm{sup -2} mM{sup -1}) and the lowest Michaelis-Menten constant (1.37 mM). Since APS-treated ZnO nanowires showed the largest number of C-N groups and the lowest electron transfer resistance through the biosensor, we concluded that these properties were the key factors in the performance of APS-treated glucose biosensors.

ZnO nanowire-based glucose biosensors with different coupling agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Juneui; Lim, Sangwoo

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Fabrication of ZnO nanowire-based glucose biosensors using different coupling agents. ► Highest sensitivity for (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane-treated biosensor. ► Larger amount of glucose oxidase and lower electron transfer resistance for (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane-treated biosensor. - Abstract: ZnO-nanowire-based glucose biosensors were fabricated by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) onto a linker attached to ZnO nanowires. Different coupling agents were used, namely (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS), (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), and (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane (APS), to increase the affinity of GOx binding to ZnO nanowires. The amount of GOx immobilized on the ZnO nanowires, the performance, sensitivity, and Michaelis–Menten constant of each biosensor, and the electron transfer resistance through the biosensor were all measured in order to investigate the effect of the coupling agent on the ZnO nanowire-based biosensor. Among the different biosensors, the APS-treated biosensor had the highest sensitivity (17.72 μA cm −2 mM −1 ) and the lowest Michaelis–Menten constant (1.37 mM). Since APS-treated ZnO nanowires showed the largest number of C-N groups and the lowest electron transfer resistance through the biosensor, we concluded that these properties were the key factors in the performance of APS-treated glucose biosensors.

A Highly Responsive Silicon Nanowire/Amplifier MOSFET Hybrid Biosensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jieun; Jang, Jaeman; Choi, Bongsik; Yoon, Jinsu; Kim, Jee-Yeon; Choi, Yang-Kyu; Kim, Dong Myong; Kim, Dae Hwan; Choi, Sung-Jin

2015-07-21

This study demonstrates a hybrid biosensor comprised of a silicon nanowire (SiNW) integrated with an amplifier MOSFET to improve the current response of field-effect-transistor (FET)-based biosensors. The hybrid biosensor is fabricated using conventional CMOS technology, which has the potential advantage of high density and low noise performance. The biosensor shows a current response of 5.74 decades per pH for pH detection, which is 2.5 × 10(5) times larger than that of a single SiNW sensor. In addition, we demonstrate charged polymer detection using the biosensor, with a high current change of 4.5 × 10(5) with a 500 nM concentration of poly(allylamine hydrochloride). In addition, we demonstrate a wide dynamic range can be obtained by adjusting the liquid gate voltage. We expect that this biosensor will be advantageous and practical for biosensor applications which requires lower noise, high speed, and high density.

Disease-Related Detection with Electrochemical Biosensors: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ying; Xu, Jin; Liu, Junjie; Wang, Xiangyang; Chen, Bin

2017-10-17

Rapid diagnosis of diseases at their initial stage is critical for effective clinical outcomes and promotes general public health. Classical in vitro diagnostics require centralized laboratories, tedious work and large, expensive devices. In recent years, numerous electrochemical biosensors have been developed and proposed for detection of various diseases based on specific biomarkers taking advantage of their features, including sensitivity, selectivity, low cost and rapid response. This article reviews research trends in disease-related detection with electrochemical biosensors. Focus has been placed on the immobilization mechanism of electrochemical biosensors, and the techniques and materials used for the fabrication of biosensors are introduced in details. Various biomolecules used for different diseases have been listed. Besides, the advances and challenges of using electrochemical biosensors for disease-related applications are discussed.

Magnetically-refreshable receptor platform structures for reusable nano-biosensor chips

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Haneul; Cho, Dong-guk; Park, Juhun; Nam, Ki Wan; Cho, Young Tak; Chen, Xing; Hong, Seunghun; Lee, Dong Jun; Park, Jae Yeol

2016-01-01

We developed a magnetically-refreshable receptor platform structure which can be integrated with quite versatile nano-biosensor structures to build reusable nano-biosensor chips. This structure allows one to easily remove used receptor molecules from a biosensor surface and reuse the biosensor for repeated sensing operations. Using this structure, we demonstrated reusable immunofluorescence biosensors. Significantly, since our method allows one to place receptor molecules very close to a nano-biosensor surface, it can be utilized to build reusable carbon nanotube transistor-based biosensors which require receptor molecules within a Debye length from the sensor surface. Furthermore, we also show that a single sensor chip can be utilized to detect two different target molecules simply by replacing receptor molecules using our method. Since this method does not rely on any chemical reaction to refresh sensor chips, it can be utilized for versatile biosensor structures and virtually-general receptor molecular species. (paper)

Research on High-Precision, Low Cost Piezoresistive MEMS-Array Pressure Transmitters Based on Genetic Wavelet Neural Networks for Meteorological Measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiahong Zhang

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This paper provides a novel and effective compensation method by improving the hardware design and software algorithm to achieve optimization of piezoresistive pressure sensors and corresponding measurement systems in order to measure pressure more accurately and stably, as well as to meet the application requirements of the meteorological industry. Specifically, GE NovaSensor MEMS piezoresistive pressure sensors within a thousandth of accuracy are selected to constitute an array. In the versatile compensation method, the hardware utilizes the array of MEMS pressure sensors to reduce random error caused by sensor creep, and the software adopts the data fusion technique based on the wavelet neural network (WNN which is improved by genetic algorithm (GA to analyze the data of sensors for the sake of obtaining accurate and complete information over the wide temperature and pressure ranges. The GA-WNN model is implemented in hardware by using the 32-bit STMicroelectronics (STM32 microcontroller combined with an embedded real-time operating system µC/OS-II to make the output of the array of MEMS sensors be a direct digital readout. The results of calibration and test experiments clearly show that the GA-WNN technique can be effectively applied to minimize the sensor errors due to the temperature drift, the hysteresis effect and the long-term drift because of aging and environmental changes. The maximum error of the low cost piezoresistive MEMS-array pressure transmitter proposed by us is within 0.04% of its full-scale value, and it can satisfy the meteorological pressure measurement.

Biosensor technology for pesticides--a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Neelam; Bhardwaj, Atul

2015-03-01

Pesticides, due to their lucrative outcomes, are majorly implicated in agricultural fields for crop production enhancement. Due to their pest removal properties, pesticides of various classes have been designed to persist in the environment over a longer duration after their application to achieve maximum effectiveness. Apart from their recalcitrant structure and agricultural benefits, pesticides also impose acute toxicological effects onto the other various life forms. Their accumulation in the living system may prove to be detrimental if established in higher concentrations. Thus, their prompt and accurate analysis is a crucial matter of concern. Conventional techniques like chromatographic techniques (HPLC, GC, etc.) used for pesticides detection are associated with various limitations like stumpy sensitivity and efficiency, time consumption, laboriousity, requirement of expensive equipments and highly trained technicians, and many more. So there is a need to recruit the methods which can detect these neurotoxic compounds sensitively, selectively, rapidly, and easily in the field. Present work is a brief review of the pesticide effects, their current usage scenario, permissible limits in various food stuffs and 21st century advancements of biosensor technology for pesticide detection. Due to their exceptional performance capabilities, easiness in operation and on-site working, numerous biosensors have been developed for bio-monitoring of various environmental samples for pesticide evaluation immensely throughout the globe. Till date, based on sensing element (enzyme based, antibody based, etc.) and type of detection method used (Electrochemical, optical, and piezoelectric, etc.), a number of biosensors have been developed for pesticide detection. In present communication, authors have summarized 21st century's approaches of biosensor technology for pesticide detection such as enzyme-based biosensors, immunosensors, aptamers, molecularly imprinted polymers, and

A global benchmark study using affinity-based biosensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rich, Rebecca L; Papalia, Giuseppe A; Flynn, Peter J

2009-01-01

To explore the variability in biosensor studies, 150 participants from 20 countries were given the same protein samples and asked to determine kinetic rate constants for the interaction. We chose a protein system that was amenable to analysis using different biosensor platforms as well as by users...... the remaining panel of participants was 620 pM with a standard deviation of 980 pM. These results demonstrate that when this biosensor assay was designed and executed appropriately, the reported rate constants were consistent, and independent of which protein was immobilized and which biosensor was used....

Disease-Related Detection with Electrochemical Biosensors: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Huang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Rapid diagnosis of diseases at their initial stage is critical for effective clinical outcomes and promotes general public health. Classical in vitro diagnostics require centralized laboratories, tedious work and large, expensive devices. In recent years, numerous electrochemical biosensors have been developed and proposed for detection of various diseases based on specific biomarkers taking advantage of their features, including sensitivity, selectivity, low cost and rapid response. This article reviews research trends in disease-related detection with electrochemical biosensors. Focus has been placed on the immobilization mechanism of electrochemical biosensors, and the techniques and materials used for the fabrication of biosensors are introduced in details. Various biomolecules used for different diseases have been listed. Besides, the advances and challenges of using electrochemical biosensors for disease-related applications are discussed.

Sense and sensitivity in bioprocessing-detecting cellular metabolites with biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Dekker, Linda; Polizzi, Karen M

2017-10-01

Biosensors use biological elements to detect or quantify an analyte of interest. In bioprocessing, biosensors are employed to monitor key metabolites. There are two main types: fully biological systems or biological recognition coupled with physical/chemical detection. New developments in chemical biosensors include multiplexed detection using microfluidics. Synthetic biology can be used to engineer new biological biosensors with improved characteristics. Although there have been few biosensors developed for bioprocessing thus far, emerging trends can be applied in the future. A range of new platform technologies will enable rapid engineering of new biosensors based on transcriptional activation, riboswitches, and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer. However, translation to industry remains a challenge and more research into the robustness biosensors at scale is needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Piezoresistive cantilever force-clamp system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Sung-Jin; Petzold, Bryan C.; Pruitt, Beth L. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Goodman, Miriam B. [Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)

2011-04-15

We present a microelectromechanical device-based tool, namely, a force-clamp system that sets or ''clamps'' the scaled force and can apply designed loading profiles (e.g., constant, sinusoidal) of a desired magnitude. The system implements a piezoresistive cantilever as a force sensor and the built-in capacitive sensor of a piezoelectric actuator as a displacement sensor, such that sample indentation depth can be directly calculated from the force and displacement signals. A programmable real-time controller operating at 100 kHz feedback calculates the driving voltage of the actuator. The system has two distinct modes: a force-clamp mode that controls the force applied to a sample and a displacement-clamp mode that controls the moving distance of the actuator. We demonstrate that the system has a large dynamic range (sub-nN up to tens of {mu}N force and nm up to tens of {mu}m displacement) in both air and water, and excellent dynamic response (fast response time, <2 ms and large bandwidth, 1 Hz up to 1 kHz). In addition, the system has been specifically designed to be integrated with other instruments such as a microscope with patch-clamp electronics. We demonstrate the capabilities of the system by using it to calibrate the stiffness and sensitivity of an electrostatic actuator and to measure the mechanics of a living, freely moving Caenorhabditis elegans nematode.

A MEMS-based Air Flow Sensor with a Free-standing Micro-cantilever Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yu-Hsiang; Lee, Chia-Yen; Chiang, Che-Ming

2007-10-17

This paper presents a micro-scale air flow sensor based on a free-standingcantilever structure. In the fabrication process, MEMS techniques are used to deposit asilicon nitride layer on a silicon wafer. A platinum layer is deposited on the silicon nitridelayer to form a piezoresistor, and the resulting structure is then etched to create afreestanding micro-cantilever. When an air flow passes over the surface of the cantileverbeam, the beam deflects in the downward direction, resulting in a small variation in theresistance of the piezoelectric layer. The air flow velocity is determined by measuring thechange in resistance using an external LCR meter. The experimental results indicate that theflow sensor has a high sensitivity (0.0284 ω/ms -1 ), a high velocity measurement limit (45ms -1 ) and a rapid response time (0.53 s).

Construction and characterization of novel stress-responsive Deinococcal biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joe, Min Ho; Lim, Sang Youg

2012-01-01

In this research, we constructed a recombinant whole-cell biosensor to detect mutagens (H2O2, mitomycin C, MNNG, bleomycin) using Deinococcus radiodurans and evaluated its possibility for actual application. We performed DNA microarray analysis and selected 10 candidate genes for biosensor recombinant plasmid construction. The expression of ddrA, ddrB, DR 0 161, DR 0 589, and pprA was highly increased after treatment of the target mutagens. Putative promoter region of the genes were used for LacZ-based biosensor plasmid construction by replacing groESL promoter of pRADZ3. Pormoter activity and specificity of the five recombinant LacZ-based biosensor strains harboring the recombinant plasmids was measured. The result indicated that the promoter region of ddrA is the most suitable promoter for the biosensor development. Red pigment-based biosensor plasmid was constructed by displacing lacZ with crtI. The sensor strain was constructed by transforming the sensor plasmid into crtI deleted mutant D. radiodurans strain. Finally, macroscopic detection of the target mutagens by the biosensor strain was evaluated. The strength of red pigment biosynthesis by this recombinant strain in response to the target mutagens was weaker than our expectation. Continuous damage to the sensor strain by the mutagens in the medium might be the main reason for this low red-pigment biosynthesis. Therefore, we propose that the LacZ-based biosensor is more effective than the biosensor using red pigment as indicator for the mutagen detection

Biomolecule detection using wheatstone bridge giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensors based on CoFeB spin-valve thin film

Science.gov (United States)

Elda Swastika, P.; Antarnusa, G.; Suharyadi, E.; Kato, T.; Iwata, S.

2018-04-01

A potential wheatstone bridge giant magnetoresistance (GMR) biosensor have been successfully developed for biomolecule detection. [IrMn(10 nm)/CoFe(3 nm)/Cu(2.2 nm)/CoFeB(10 nm)] spin-valve structure has been chosen as the magnetic sensing surface, showing a magnetoresistance (MR) of 6% fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering method. The Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles used as biomolecular labels (nanotags) was synthesized by co-precipitation method, exhibiting soft magnetic behavior with saturation magnetization (Ms), remanent magnetization (Mr) and coercivity (Hc) is 77.2 emu/g, 7.8 emu/g and 51 Oe, respectively. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that Fe3O4 was well crystallized and grew in their inverse spinel structure, highly uniform morphology with an average grain size was about 20 nm. Fe3O4 was coated with polyethylene-glycol (PEG)-4000 for surface functionalization. Detection of biomolecule such as formalin, gelatin from bovine-skin and porcine-skin were dispersed in ethanol at room temperature. Induction would cause a shift in output voltage with a minimum delta output voltage (ΔV) 4.937 mV (10%) for formalin detection, 2.268 mV (7%) for bovine-skin gelatin and 2.943 mV (7%) for porcine-skin gelatin detection. The ΔV of the wheatstone bridge in real-time measurement decrease by increase in biomolecules concentration. The change of ΔV with various concentration of biomolecule indicates that the spin-valve thin film with wheatstone-bridge circuit is potential as a biosensor.

Biosensors in forensic sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frederickx, C.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available A biosensor is a device that uses biological materials to detect and monitor the presence of specific chemicals in an area. Traditional methods of volatile detection used by law enforcement agencies and rescue teams typically consist of reliance on canine olfaction. This concept of using dogs to detect specific substances is quite old. However, dogs have some limitations such as cost of training and time of conditioning. Thus, the possibility of using other organisms as biosensors including rats, dolphins, honeybees, and parasitic wasps for detecting explosives, narcotics and cadavers has been developed. Insects have several advantages unshared by mammals. Insects are sensitive, cheap to produce and can be conditioned with impressive speed for a specific chemical-detection task. Moreover, insects might be a preferred sensing method in scenarios that are deemed too dangerous to use mammals. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the biosensors used in forensic sciences.

Impedimetric biosensors for medical applications current progress and challenges

CERN Document Server

Rushworth, Jo V; Goode, Jack A; Pike, Douglas J; Ahmed, Asif; Millner, Paul

2014-01-01

In this monograph, the authors discuss the current progress in the medical application of impedimetric biosensors, along with the key challenges in the field. First, a general overview of biosensor development, structure and function is presented, followed by a detailed discussion of impedimetric biosensors and the principles of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Next, the current state-of-the art in terms of the science and technology underpinning impedance-based biosensors is reviewed in detail. The layer-by-layer construction of impedimetric sensors is described, including the design of electrodes, their nano-modification, transducer surface functionalization and the attachment of different bioreceptors. The current challenges of translating lab-based biosensor platforms into commercially-available devices that function with real patient samples at the POC are presented; this includes a consideration of systems integration, microfluidics and biosensor regeneration. The final section of this monograph ...

Calibration and use of a rugged new piezoresistive pressure transducer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lucht, R.A.; Charest, J.A.

1995-09-01

A new 50-ohm piezoresistive pressure gauge has been developed and calibrated in the range 0 to 4.0 GPa. This ``pinducer`` consists of one half of 100 ohm, one quarter watt, carbon composition resistor mounted coaxially at the end of a small brass tube. Three techniques have been used to calibrate this new gauge. Good agreement is found between all calibration data, and a smooth curve is fit through all resistance change versus pressure data up to 1.5 GPa. The gauges exhibit rise times of about 0.5 {mu}s. They offer advantages in raggedness, cost, and flexibility of application. The pinducer can be successfully used in divergent flows, harsh environments, and positions where lead protection would be impossible with thin-film gauges. A unique application is demonstrated.

DNA Nanotechnology-Enabled Interfacial Engineering for Biosensor Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Dekai; Zuo, Xiaolei; Fan, Chunhai

2018-06-12

Biosensors represent biomimetic analytical tools for addressing increasing needs in medical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, security, and biodefense. Nevertheless, widespread real-world applications of biosensors remain challenging due to limitations of performance, including sensitivity, specificity, speed, and reproducibility. In this review, we present a DNA nanotechnology-enabled interfacial engineering approach for improving the performance of biosensors. We first introduce the main challenges of the biosensing interfaces, especially under the context of controlling the DNA interfacial assembly. We then summarize recent progress in DNA nanotechnology and efforts to harness DNA nanostructures to engineer various biological interfaces, with a particular focus on the use of framework nucleic acids. We also discuss the implementation of biosensors to detect physiologically relevant nucleic acids, proteins, small molecules, ions, and other biomarkers. This review highlights promising applications of DNA nanotechnology in interfacial engineering for biosensors and related areas.

Android integrated urea biosensor for public health awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pranali P. Naik

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Integration of a biosensor with a wireless network on the Android 4.2.1 (Jelly Bean platform has been demonstrated. The present study reports an android integrated user friendly Flow injection analysis-Enzyme thermistor (FIA-ET urea biosensor system. This android-integrated biosensor system will facilitate enhanced consumer health and awareness alongside abridging the gap between the food testing laboratory and the concerned higher authorities. Data received from a flow injection mode urea biosensor has been exploited as an integration point among the analyst, the food consumer and the responsible higher authorities. Using the urea biosensor as an example, an alarm system has also been demonstrated both graphically and through text message on a mobile handset. The presented sensor integrated android system will also facilitate decision making support system in various fields of food quality monitoring and clinical analysis.

Introduction to Biosensors From Electric Circuits to Immunosensors

CERN Document Server

Yoon, Jeong-Yeol

2013-01-01

Introduction to Biosensors: From Electric Circuits to Immunosensors discusses underlying circuitry of sensors for biomedical and biological engineers as well as biomedical sensing modalities for electrical engineers while providing an applications-based approach to the study of biosensors with over 13 extensive, hands-on labs. The material is presented using a building-block approach, beginning with the fundamentals of sensor design and temperature sensors and ending with more complicated biosensors. This book also: Provides electrical engineers with the specific knowledge they need to understand biological sensing modalities Provides biomedical engineers with a solid background in circuits and systems Includes complete coverage of temperature sensors, electrochemical sensors, DNA and immunosensors, piezoelectric sensors and immunosensing in a micofluidic device Introduction to Biosensors: From Electric Circuits to Immunosensors aims to provide an interdisciplinary approach to biosensors that will be apprecia...

Micro- and nanogap based biosensors

OpenAIRE

Hammond, Jules L.

2017-01-01

Biosensors are used for the detection of a range of analytes for applications in healthcare, food production, environmental monitoring and biodefence. However, many biosensing platforms are large, expensive, require skilled operators or necessitate the analyte to be labelled. Direct electrochemical detection methods present a particularly attractive platform due to the simplified instrumentation when compared to other techniques such as fluorescence-based biosensors. With modern integrated ci...

Biosensors based on β-galactosidase enzyme: Recent advances and perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Shiv K; Leblanc, Roger M

2017-10-15

Many industries are striving for the development of more reliable and robust β-galactosidase biosensors that exhibit high response rate, increased detection limit and enriched useful lifetime. In a newfangled technological atmosphere, a trivial advantage or disadvantage of the developed biosensor may escort to the survival and extinction of the industry. Several alternative strategies to immobilize β-galactosidase enzyme for their utilization in biosensors have been developed in recent years in the quest of maximum utility by controlling the defects seen in the previous biosensors. The overwhelming call for on-line measurement of different sample constituents has directed science and industry to search for best practical solutions and biosensors are witnessed as the best prospect. The main objective of this paper is to serve as a narrow footbridge by comparing the literary works on the β-galactosidase biosensors, critically analyze their use in the construction of best biosensor by showing the pros and cons of the predicted methods for the practical use of biosensors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A kinetic formulation of piezoresistance in N-type silicon: Application to non-linear effects

Science.gov (United States)

Charbonnieras, A. R.; Tellier, C. R.

1999-07-01

This paper is devoted to the theoretical study of the influence of the temperature and of the doping on the piezoresistance of N-type silicon. In the first step the fractional change in the resistivity caused by stresses is calculated in the framework of a multivalley model using a kinetic transport formulation based on the Boltzmann transport equation. In the second step shifts in the minima of the conduction band and the resulting shift of the Fermi level are expressed in terms of deformation potentials and of stresses. General expressions for the fundamental linear, π_{11} and π_{12}, and non-linear, π_{111}, π_{112}, π_{122} and π_{123}, piezoresistance coefficients are then derived. Plots of the non-linear piezoresistance coefficients against the reduced shift of the Fermi level or against temperature allow us to characterize the influence of doping and temperature. Finally some attempts are made to estimate the non-linearity for heavily doped semiconductor gauges. Cette publication est consacrée à l'étude théorique de l'influence de la température et du dopage sur la piezorésistivité du silicium type N. Dans une première étape nous adoptons le modèle de vallées et nous utilisons une formulation cinétique du transport électronique faisant appel à l'équation de transport de Boltzmann pour calculer la variation de la résistivité du semiconducteur sous contrainte. Dans la deuxième étape nous exprimons les déplacements des minima de la bande de conduction et du niveau de Fermi en termes de potentiels de déformation et de contraintes. Nous proposons ensuite des expressions générales pour les coefficients piezorésistifs fondamentaux linéaires, π_{11} et π_{12}, et non-linéaires, π_{111}, π_{112}, π_{122} et π_{123}. Des représentations graphiques des variations des coefficients non-linéaires permettent de caractériser l'influence du dopage et de la température. Enfin nous fournissons une première pré-estimation des effets

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-based glucose biosensors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kros, A.; Hövell, W.F.M. van; Sommerdijk, N.A.J.M.; Nolte, R.J.M.

2001-01-01

Amperometric biosensors for the recognition of glucose oxidase (GOx) based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) were fabricated for the first time. The resulting biosensor has potential applications for long-term glucose measurements.

A Highly Responsive Silicon Nanowire/Amplifier MOSFET Hybrid Biosensor

Science.gov (United States)

2015-07-21

Hybrid Biosensor Jieun Lee1,2, Jaeman Jang1, Bongsik Choi1, Jinsu Yoon1, Jee-Yeon Kim3, Yang-Kyu Choi3, Dong Myong Kim1, Dae Hwan Kim1 & Sung-Jin Choi1...This study demonstrates a hybrid biosensor comprised of a silicon nanowire (SiNW) integrated with an amplifier MOSFET to improve the current response...of field-effect-transistor (FET)-based biosensors . The hybrid biosensor is fabricated using conventional CMOS technology, which has the potential

Implantable biaxial piezoresistive accelerometer for sensorimotor control.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Qiang; Tan, Wei; Sok Kim, Eun; Singh, Jasspreet; Loeb, Gerald E

2004-01-01

This paper describes the design, fabrication and test results of a novel biaxial piezoresistive accelerometer and its incorporation into a miniature neuromuscular stimulator called a BION. Because of its highly symmetric twin mass structure, the X and Z axis acceleration can be measured at the same time and the cross axis sensitivity can be minimized by proper piezoresistor design. The X and Z axis sensitivities of the biaxial accelerometer are 0.10 mV/g/V and 1.40 mV/g/V, respectively, which are further increased to 0.65 mV/g/V and 2.40 mV/g/V, respectively, with extra silicon mass added to the proof mass. The cross-axis sensitivity is less than 3.3% among X, Y and Z-axis. An orientation tracking method for human segments by measuring every joint angle is also discussed in this paper. Joint angles can be obtained by processing the outputs of a pair of biaxial accelerometers (placed very close to the joint axis on the adjacent limb links), without having to integrate acceleration or velocity signals, thereby avoiding errors due to offsets and drift.

Modeling microelectrode biosensors: free-flow calibration can substantially underestimate tissue concentrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, Adam J H; Wall, Mark J; Richardson, Magnus J E

2017-03-01

Microelectrode amperometric biosensors are widely used to measure concentrations of analytes in solution and tissue including acetylcholine, adenosine, glucose, and glutamate. A great deal of experimental and modeling effort has been directed at quantifying the response of the biosensors themselves; however, the influence that the macroscopic tissue environment has on biosensor response has not been subjected to the same level of scrutiny. Here we identify an important issue in the way microelectrode biosensors are calibrated that is likely to have led to underestimations of analyte tissue concentrations. Concentration in tissue is typically determined by comparing the biosensor signal to that measured in free-flow calibration conditions. In a free-flow environment the concentration of the analyte at the outer surface of the biosensor can be considered constant. However, in tissue the analyte reaches the biosensor surface by diffusion through the extracellular space. Because the enzymes in the biosensor break down the analyte, a density gradient is set up resulting in a significantly lower concentration of analyte near the biosensor surface. This effect is compounded by the diminished volume fraction (porosity) and reduction in the diffusion coefficient due to obstructions (tortuosity) in tissue. We demonstrate this effect through modeling and experimentally verify our predictions in diffusive environments. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Microelectrode biosensors are typically calibrated in a free-flow environment where the concentrations at the biosensor surface are constant. However, when in tissue, the analyte reaches the biosensor via diffusion and so analyte breakdown by the biosensor results in a concentration gradient and consequently a lower concentration around the biosensor. This effect means that naive free-flow calibration will underestimate tissue concentration. We develop mathematical models to better quantify the discrepancy between the calibration and tissue

Construction and characterization of novel stress-responsive Deinococcal biosensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joe, Min Ho; Lim, Sang Youg

2012-01-15

In this research, we constructed a recombinant whole-cell biosensor to detect mutagens (H2O2, mitomycin C, MNNG, bleomycin) using Deinococcus radiodurans and evaluated its possibility for actual application. We performed DNA microarray analysis and selected 10 candidate genes for biosensor recombinant plasmid construction. The expression of ddrA, ddrB, DR{sub 0}161, DR{sub 0}589, and pprA was highly increased after treatment of the target mutagens. Putative promoter region of the genes were used for LacZ-based biosensor plasmid construction by replacing groESL promoter of pRADZ3. Pormoter activity and specificity of the five recombinant LacZ-based biosensor strains harboring the recombinant plasmids was measured. The result indicated that the promoter region of ddrA is the most suitable promoter for the biosensor development. Red pigment-based biosensor plasmid was constructed by displacing lacZ with crtI. The sensor strain was constructed by transforming the sensor plasmid into crtI deleted mutant D. radiodurans strain. Finally, macroscopic detection of the target mutagens by the biosensor strain was evaluated. The strength of red pigment biosynthesis by this recombinant strain in response to the target mutagens was weaker than our expectation. Continuous damage to the sensor strain by the mutagens in the medium might be the main reason for this low red-pigment biosynthesis. Therefore, we propose that the LacZ-based biosensor is more effective than the biosensor using red pigment as indicator for the mutagen detection.

BIOSENSORS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING: A REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE

Science.gov (United States)

Biosensors show the potential to complement laboratory-based analytical methods for environmental applications. Although biosensors for potential environmental-monitoring applications have been reported for a wide range of environmental pollutants, from a regulatory perspective, ...

The analytical calibration model of temperature effects on a silicon piezoresistive pressure sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meng Nie

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Presently, piezoresistive pressure sensors are highly demanded for using in various microelectronic devices. The electrical behavior of these pressure sensor is mainly dependent on the temperature gradient. In this paper, various factors,which includes effect of temperature, doping concentration on the pressure sensitive resistance, package stress, and temperature on the Young’s modulus etc., are responsible for the temperature drift of the pressure sensor are analyzed. Based on the above analysis, an analytical calibration model of the output voltage of the sensor is proposed and the experimental data is validated through a suitable model.

Biosensor method and system based on feature vector extraction

Science.gov (United States)

Greenbaum, Elias [Knoxville, TN; Rodriguez, Jr., Miguel; Qi, Hairong [Knoxville, TN; Wang, Xiaoling [San Jose, CA

2012-04-17

A method of biosensor-based detection of toxins comprises the steps of providing at least one time-dependent control signal generated by a biosensor in a gas or liquid medium, and obtaining a time-dependent biosensor signal from the biosensor in the gas or liquid medium to be monitored or analyzed for the presence of one or more toxins selected from chemical, biological or radiological agents. The time-dependent biosensor signal is processed to obtain a plurality of feature vectors using at least one of amplitude statistics and a time-frequency analysis. At least one parameter relating to toxicity of the gas or liquid medium is then determined from the feature vectors based on reference to the control signal.

Design Strategies for Aptamer-Based Biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Kun; Liang, Zhiqiang; Zhou, Nandi

2010-01-01

Aptamers have been widely used as recognition elements for biosensor construction, especially in the detection of proteins or small molecule targets, and regarded as promising alternatives for antibodies in bioassay areas. In this review, we present an overview of reported design strategies for the fabrication of biosensors and classify them into four basic modes: target-induced structure switching mode, sandwich or sandwich-like mode, target-induced dissociation/displacement mode and competitive replacement mode. In view of the unprecedented advantages brought about by aptamers and smart design strategies, aptamer-based biosensors are expected to be one of the most promising devices in bioassay related applications. PMID:22399891

Introduction to biosensors from electric circuits to immunosensors

CERN Document Server

Yoon, Jeong-Yeol

2016-01-01

This book equips students with a thorough understanding of various types of sensors and biosensors that can be used for chemical, biological, and biomedical applications, including but not limited to temperature sensors, strain sensor, light sensors, spectrophotometric sensors, pulse oximeter, optical fiber probes, fluorescence sensors, pH sensor, ion-selective electrodes, piezoelectric sensors, glucose sensors, DNA and immunosensors, lab-on-a-chip biosensors, paper-based lab-on-a-chip biosensors, and microcontroller-based sensors. The author treats the study of biosensors with an applications-based approach, including over 15 extensive, hands-on labs given at the end of each chapter. The material is presented using a building-block approach, beginning with the fundamentals of sensor design and temperature sensors, and ending with more complicated biosensors. New to this second edition are sections on op-amp filters, pulse oximetry, meat quality monitoring, advanced fluorescent dyes, autofluorescence, various...

Micro-and nanoelectromechanical biosensors

CERN Document Server

Nicu, Liviu

2014-01-01

Most books dedicated to the issues of bio-sensing are organized by the well-known scheme of a biosensor. In this book, the authors have deliberately decided to break away from the conventional way of treating biosensing research by uniquely addressing biomolecule immobilization methods on a solid surface, fluidics issues and biosensing-related transduction techniques, rather than focusing simply on the biosensor. The aim is to provide a contemporary snapshot of the biosensing landscape without neglecting the seminal references or products where needed, following the downscaling (from the micr

Biosensors based on gold nanostructures

OpenAIRE

Vidotti,Marcio; Carvalhal,Rafaela F.; Mendes,Renata K.; Ferreira,Danielle C. M.; Kubota,Lauro T.

2011-01-01

The present review discusses the latest advances in biosensor technology achieved by the assembly of biomolecules associated with gold nanoparticles in analytical devices. This review is divided in sections according to the biomolecule employed in the biosensor development: (i) immunocompounds; (ii) DNA/RNA and functional DNA/RNA; and (iii) enzymes and Heme proteins. In order to facilitate the comprehension each section was subdivided according to the transduction mode. Gold nanoparticles bas...

In Vitro Evaluation of Fluorescence Glucose Biosensor Response

OpenAIRE

Aloraefy, Mamdouh; Pfefer, T. Joshua; Ramella-Roman, Jessica C.; Sapsford, Kim E.

2014-01-01

Rapid, accurate, and minimally-invasive glucose biosensors based on Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) for glucose measurement have the potential to enhance diabetes control. However, a standard set of in vitro approaches for evaluating optical glucose biosensor response under controlled conditions would facilitate technological innovation and clinical translation. Towards this end, we have identified key characteristics and response test methods, fabricated FRET-based glucose biosensor...

Biosensors in the small scale: methods and technology trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Senveli, Sukru U; Tigli, Onur

2013-03-01

This study presents a review on biosensors with an emphasis on recent developments in the field. A brief history accompanied by a detailed description of the biosensor concepts is followed by rising trends observed in contemporary micro- and nanoscale biosensors. Performance metrics to quantify and compare different detection mechanisms are presented. A comprehensive analysis on various types and subtypes of biosensors are given. The fields of interest within the scope of this review are label-free electrical, mechanical and optical biosensors as well as other emerging and popular technologies. Especially, the latter half of the last decade is reviewed for the types, methods and results of the most prominently researched detection mechanisms. Tables are provided for comparison of various competing technologies in the literature. The conclusion part summarises the noteworthy advantages and disadvantages of all biosensors reviewed in this study. Furthermore, future directions that the micro- and nanoscale biosensing technologies are expected to take are provided along with the immediate outlook.

Fundamental Design Principles for Transcription-Factor-Based Metabolite Biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Mannan, Ahmad A; Liu, Di; Zhang, Fuzhong; Oyarzún, Diego A

2017-10-20

Metabolite biosensors are central to current efforts toward precision engineering of metabolism. Although most research has focused on building new biosensors, their tunability remains poorly understood and is fundamental for their broad applicability. Here we asked how genetic modifications shape the dose-response curve of biosensors based on metabolite-responsive transcription factors. Using the lac system in Escherichia coli as a model system, we built promoter libraries with variable operator sites that reveal interdependencies between biosensor dynamic range and response threshold. We developed a phenomenological theory to quantify such design constraints in biosensors with various architectures and tunable parameters. Our theory reveals a maximal achievable dynamic range and exposes tunable parameters for orthogonal control of dynamic range and response threshold. Our work sheds light on fundamental limits of synthetic biology designs and provides quantitative guidelines for biosensor design in applications such as dynamic pathway control, strain optimization, and real-time monitoring of metabolism.

Hysteresis Compensation of Piezoresistive Carbon Nanotube/Polydimethylsiloxane Composite-Based Force Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji-Sik Kim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper provides a preliminary study on the hysteresis compensation of a piezoresistive silicon-based polymer composite, poly(dimethylsiloxane dispersed with carbon nanotubes (CNTs, to demonstrate its feasibility as a conductive composite (i.e., a force-sensitive resistor for force sensors. In this study, the potential use of the nanotube/polydimethylsiloxane (CNT/PDMS as a force sensor is evaluated for the first time. The experimental results show that the electrical resistance of the CNT/PDMS composite changes in response to sinusoidal loading and static compressive load. The compensated output based on the Duhem hysteresis model shows a linear relationship. This simple hysteresis model can compensate for the nonlinear frequency-dependent hysteresis phenomenon when a dynamic sinusoidal force input is applied.

A MEMS SOI-based piezoresistive fluid flow sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, B.; Li, H. F.; Yang, H.; Song, D. L.; Bai, X. W.; Zhao, Y. L.

2018-02-01

In this paper, a SOI (silicon-on-insulator)-based piezoresistive fluid flow sensor is presented; the presented flow sensor mainly consists of a nylon sensing head, stainless steel cantilever beam, SOI sensor chip, printed circuit board, half-cylinder gasket, and stainless steel shell. The working principle of the sensor and some detailed contrastive analysis about the sensor structure were introduced since the nylon sensing head and stainless steel cantilever beam have distinct influence on the sensor performance; the structure of nylon sensing head and stainless steel cantilever beam is also discussed. The SOI sensor chip was fabricated using micro-electromechanical systems technologies, such as reactive ion etching and low pressure chemical vapor deposition. The designed fluid sensor was packaged and tested; a calibration installation system was purposely designed for the sensor experiment. The testing results indicated that the output voltage of the sensor is proportional to the square of the fluid flow velocity, which is coincident with the theoretical derivation. The tested sensitivity of the sensor is 3.91 × 10-4 V ms2/kg.

Emerging synergy between nanotechnology and implantable biosensors: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaddiraju, Santhisagar; Tomazos, Ioannis; Burgess, Diane J; Jain, Faquir C; Papadimitrakopoulos, Fotios

2010-03-15

The development of implantable biosensors for continuous monitoring of metabolites is an area of sustained scientific and technological interests. On the other hand, nanotechnology, a discipline which deals with the properties of materials at the nanoscale, is developing as a potent tool to enhance the performance of these biosensors. This article reviews the current state of implantable biosensors, highlighting the synergy between nanotechnology and sensor performance. Emphasis is placed on the electrochemical method of detection in light of its widespread usage and substantial nanotechnology based improvements in various aspects of electrochemical biosensor performance. Finally, issues regarding toxicity and biocompatibility of nanomaterials, along with future prospects for the application of nanotechnology in implantable biosensors, are discussed. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanopatterned Bulk Metallic Glass Biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinser, Emily R; Padmanabhan, Jagannath; Yu, Roy; Corona, Sydney L; Li, Jinyang; Vaddiraju, Sagar; Legassey, Allen; Loye, Ayomiposi; Balestrini, Jenna; Solly, Dawson A; Schroers, Jan; Taylor, André D; Papadimitrakopoulos, Fotios; Herzog, Raimund I; Kyriakides, Themis R

2017-12-22

Nanopatterning as a surface area enhancement method has the potential to increase signal and sensitivity of biosensors. Platinum-based bulk metallic glass (Pt-BMG) is a biocompatible material with electrical properties conducive for biosensor electrode applications, which can be processed in air at comparably low temperatures to produce nonrandom topography at the nanoscale. Work presented here employs nanopatterned Pt-BMG electrodes functionalized with glucose oxidase enzyme to explore the impact of nonrandom and highly reproducible nanoscale surface area enhancement on glucose biosensor performance. Electrochemical measurements including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometric voltammetry (AV) were completed to compare the performance of 200 nm Pt-BMG electrodes vs Flat Pt-BMG control electrodes. Glucose dosing response was studied in a range of 2 mM to 10 mM. Effective current density dynamic range for the 200 nm Pt-BMG was 10-12 times greater than that of the Flat BMG control. Nanopatterned electrode sensitivity was measured to be 3.28 μA/cm 2 /mM, which was also an order of magnitude greater than the flat electrode. These results suggest that nonrandom nanotopography is a scalable and customizable engineering tool which can be integrated with Pt-BMGs to produce biocompatible biosensors with enhanced signal and sensitivity.

Fiber optic-based regenerable biosensor

Science.gov (United States)

Sepaniak, Michael J.; Vo-Dinh, Tuan

1993-01-01

A fiber optic-based regenerable biosensor. The biosensor is particularly suitable for use in microscale work in situ. In one embodiment, the biosensor comprises a reaction chamber disposed adjacent the distal end of a waveguide and adapted to receive therein a quantity of a sample containing an analyte. Leading into the chamber is a plurality of capillary conduits suitable for introducing into the chamber antibodies or other reagents suitable for selective interaction with a predetermined analyte. Following such interaction, the contents of the chamber may be subjected to an incident energy signal for developing fluorescence within the chamber that is detectable via the optical fiber and which is representative of the presence, i.e. concentration, of the selected analyte. Regeneration of the biosensor is accomplished by replacement of the reagents and/or the analyte, or a combination of these, at least in part via one or more of the capillary conduits. The capillary conduits extend from their respective terminal ends that are in fluid communication with the chamber, away from the chamber to respective location(s) remote from the chamber thereby permitting in situ location of the chamber and remote manipulation and/or analysis of the activity with the chamber.

A MEMS-based Air Flow Sensor with a Free-standing Micro-cantilever Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Che-Ming Chiang

2007-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a micro-scale air flow sensor based on a free-standingcantilever structure. In the fabrication process, MEMS techniques are used to deposit asilicon nitride layer on a silicon wafer. A platinum layer is deposited on the silicon nitridelayer to form a piezoresistor, and the resulting structure is then etched to create afreestanding micro-cantilever. When an air flow passes over the surface of the cantileverbeam, the beam deflects in the downward direction, resulting in a small variation in theresistance of the piezoelectric layer. The air flow velocity is determined by measuring thechange in resistance using an external LCR meter. The experimental results indicate that theflow sensor has a high sensitivity (0.0284 ω/ms-1, a high velocity measurement limit (45ms-1 and a rapid response time (0.53 s.

Recent Development of Nano-Materials Used in DNA Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yibin Ying

2009-07-01

Full Text Available As knowledge of the structure and function of nucleic acid molecules has increased, sequence-specific DNA detection has gained increased importance. DNA biosensors based on nucleic acid hybridization have been actively developed because of their specificity, speed, portability, and low cost. Recently, there has been considerable interest in using nano-materials for DNA biosensors. Because of their high surface-to-volume ratios and excellent biological compatibilities, nano-materials could be used to increase the amount of DNA immobilization; moreover, DNA bound to nano-materials can maintain its biological activity. Alternatively, signal amplification by labeling a targeted analyte with nano-materials has also been reported for DNA biosensors in many papers. This review summarizes the applications of various nano-materials for DNA biosensors during past five years. We found that nano-materials of small sizes were advantageous as substrates for DNA attachment or as labels for signal amplification; and use of two or more types of nano-materials in the biosensors could improve their overall quality and to overcome the deficiencies of the individual nano-components. Most current DNA biosensors require the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR in their protocols. However, further development of nano-materials with smaller size and/or with improved biological and chemical properties would substantially enhance the accuracy, selectivity and sensitivity of DNA biosensors. Thus, DNA biosensors without PCR amplification may become a reality in the foreseeable future.

Modularization and Response Curve Engineering of a Naringenin-Responsive Transcriptional Biosensor.

Science.gov (United States)

De Paepe, Brecht; Maertens, Jo; Vanholme, Bartel; De Mey, Marjan

2018-05-18

To monitor the intra- and extracellular environment of micro-organisms and to adapt their metabolic processes accordingly, scientists are reprogramming nature's myriad of transcriptional regulatory systems into transcriptional biosensors, which are able to detect small molecules and, in response, express specific output signals of choice. However, the naturally occurring response curve, the key characteristic of biosensor circuits, is typically not in line with the requirements for real-life biosensor applications. In this contribution, a natural LysR-type naringenin-responsive biosensor circuit is developed and characterized with Escherichia coli as host organism. Subsequently, this biosensor is dissected into a clearly defined detector and effector module without loss of functionality, and the influence of the expression levels of both modules on the biosensor response characteristics is investigated. Two collections of ten unique synthetic biosensors each are generated. Each collection demonstrates a unique diversity of response curve characteristics spanning a 128-fold change in dynamic and 2.5-fold change in operational ranges and 3-fold change in levels of Noise, fit for a wide range of applications, such as adaptive laboratory evolution, dynamic pathway control and high-throughput screening methods. The established biosensor engineering concepts, and the developed biosensor collections themselves, are of use for the future development and customization of biosensors in general, for the multitude of biosensor applications and as a compelling alternative for the commonly used LacI-, TetR- and AraC-based inducible circuits.

Flexible Tactile Sensing Based on Piezoresistive Composites: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Stassi, Stefano; Cauda, Valentina; Canavese, Giancarlo; Pirri, Candido Fabrizio

2014-01-01

The large expansion of the robotic field in the last decades has created a growing interest in the research and development of tactile sensing solutions for robot hand and body integration. Piezoresistive composites are one of the most widely employed materials for this purpose, combining simple and low cost preparation with high flexibility and conformability to surfaces, low power consumption, and the use of simple read-out electronics. This work provides a review on the different type of composite materials, classified according to the conduction mechanism and analyzing the physics behind it. In particular piezoresistors, strain gauges, percolative and quantum tunnelling devices are reviewed here, with a perspective overview on the most used filler types and polymeric matrices. A description of the state-of-the-art of the tactile sensor solutions from the point of view of the architecture, the design and the performance is also reviewed, with a perspective outlook on the main promising applications. PMID:24638126

Piezoresistive silicon thin film sensor array for biomedical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alpuim, P.; Correia, V.; Marins, E.S.; Rocha, J.G.; Trindade, I.G.; Lanceros-Mendez, S.

2011-01-01

N-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon thin film piezoresistors, with gauge factor - 28, were deposited on rugged and flexible polyimide foils by Hot-wire chemical vapor deposition using a tantalum filament heated to 1750 o C. The piezoresistive response under cyclic quasi-static and dynamical (up to 100 Hz) load conditions is reported. Test structures, consisting of microresistors having lateral dimensions in the range from 50 to 100 μm and thickness of 120 nm were defined in an array by reactive ion etching. Metallic pads, forming ohmic contacts to the sensing elements, were defined by a lift-off process. A readout circuit for the array consisting in a mutiplexer on each row and column of the matrix is proposed. The digital data will be processed, interpreted and stored internally by an ultra low-power micro controller, also responsible for the communication of two-way wireless data, e.g. from inside to outside the human body.

Implantable enzyme amperometric biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotanen, Christian N; Moussy, Francis Gabriel; Carrara, Sandro; Guiseppi-Elie, Anthony

2012-05-15

The implantable enzyme amperometric biosensor continues as the dominant in vivo format for the detection, monitoring and reporting of biochemical analytes related to a wide range of pathologies. Widely used in animal studies, there is increasing emphasis on their use in diabetes care and management, the management of trauma-associated hemorrhage and in critical care monitoring by intensivists in the ICU. These frontier opportunities demand continuous indwelling performance for up to several years, well in excess of the currently approved seven days. This review outlines the many challenges to successful deployment of chronically implantable amperometric enzyme biosensors and emphasizes the emerging technological approaches in their continued development. The foreign body response plays a prominent role in implantable biotransducer failure. Topics considering the approaches to mitigate the inflammatory response, use of biomimetic chemistries, nanostructured topographies, drug eluting constructs, and tissue-to-device interface modulus matching are reviewed. Similarly, factors that influence biotransducer performance such as enzyme stability, substrate interference, mediator selection and calibration are reviewed. For the biosensor system, the opportunities and challenges of integration, guided by footprint requirements, the limitations of mixed signal electronics, and power requirements, has produced three systems approaches. The potential is great. However, integration along the multiple length scales needed to address fundamental issues and integration across the diverse disciplines needed to achieve success of these highly integrated systems, continues to be a challenge in the development and deployment of implantable amperometric enzyme biosensor systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tunneling Conductivity and Piezoresistivity of Composites Containing Randomly Dispersed Conductive Nano-Platelets

Science.gov (United States)

Oskouyi, Amirhossein Biabangard; Sundararaj, Uttandaraman; Mertiny, Pierre

2014-01-01

In this study, a three-dimensional continuum percolation model was developed based on a Monte Carlo simulation approach to investigate the percolation behavior of an electrically insulating matrix reinforced with conductive nano-platelet fillers. The conductivity behavior of composites rendered conductive by randomly dispersed conductive platelets was modeled by developing a three-dimensional finite element resistor network. Parameters related to the percolation threshold and a power-low describing the conductivity behavior were determined. The piezoresistivity behavior of conductive composites was studied employing a reoriented resistor network emulating a conductive composite subjected to mechanical strain. The effects of the governing parameters, i.e., electron tunneling distance, conductive particle aspect ratio and size effects on conductivity behavior were examined. PMID:28788580

Biosensors: Future Analytical Tools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vikas

2007-02-01

Full Text Available Biosensors offer considerable promises for attaining the analytic information in a faster, simpler and cheaper manner compared to conventional assays. Biosensing approach is rapidly advancing and applications ranging from metabolite, biological/ chemical warfare agent, food pathogens and adulterant detection to genetic screening and programmed drug delivery have been demonstrated. Innovative efforts, coupling micromachining and nanofabrication may lead to even more powerful devices that would accelerate the realization of large-scale and routine screening. With gradual increase in commercialization a wide range of new biosensors are thus expected to reach the market in the coming years.

Antibody orientation on biosensor surfaces: a minireview

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trilling, A.K.; Beekwilder, M.J.; Zuilhof, H.

2013-01-01

Detection elements play a key role in analyte recognition in biosensors. Therefore, detection elements with high analyte specificity and binding strength are required. While antibodies (Abs) have been increasingly used as detection elements in biosensors, a key challenge remains – the immobilization

Sensitive determination of the Young's modulus of thin films by polymeric microcantilevers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Colombi, Paolo; Bergese, Paolo; Bontempi, Elza

2013-01-01

A method for the highly sensitive determination of the Young's modulus of TiO2 thin films exploiting the resonant frequency shift of a SU-8 polymer microcantilever (MC) is presented. Amorphous TiO2 films with different thickness ranging from 10 to 125 nm were grown at low temperature (90 °C......) with subnanometer thickness resolution on SU-8 MC arrays by means of atomic layer deposition. The resonant frequencies of the MCs were measured before and after coating and the elastic moduli of the films were determined by a theoretical model developed for this purpose. The Young's modulus of thicker TiO2 films...... (>75 nm) was estimated to be about 110 GPa, this value being consistent with the value of amorphous TiO2. On the other hand we observed a marked decrease of the Young's modulus for TiO2 films with a thickness below 50 nm. This behavior was found not to be related to a decrease of the film mass density...

Analysis of asymmetric resonance response of thermally excited silicon micro-cantilevers for mass-sensitive nanoparticle detection

Science.gov (United States)

Bertke, Maik; Hamdana, Gerry; Wu, Wenze; Suryo Wasisto, Hutomo; Uhde, Erik; Peiner, Erwin

2017-06-01

In this paper, the asymmetric resonance frequency (f 0) responses of thermally in-plane excited silicon cantilevers for a pocket-sized, cantilever-based airborne nanoparticle detector (Cantor) are analysed. By measuring the shift of f 0 caused by the deposition of nanoparticles (NPs), the cantilevers are used as a microbalance. The cantilever sensors are low cost manufactured from silicon by bulk-micromachining techniques and contain an integrated p-type heating actuator and a sensing piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge. f 0 is tracked by a homemade phase-locked loop (PPL) for real-time measurements. To optimize the sensor performance, a new cantilever geometry was designed, fabricated and characterized by its frequency responses. The most significant characterisation parameters of our application are f 0 and the quality factor (Q), which have high influences on sensitivity and efficiency of the NP detector. Regarding the asymmetric resonance signal, a novel fitting function based on the Fano resonance replacing the conventionally used function of the simple harmonic oscillator and a method to calculate Q by its fitting parameters were developed for a quantitative evaluation. To obtain a better understanding of the resonance behaviours, we analysed the origin of the asymmetric line shapes. Therefore, we compared the frequency response of the on-chip thermal excitation with an external excitation using an in-plane piezo actuator. In correspondence to the Fano effect, we could reconstruct the measured resonance curves by coupling two signals with constant amplitude and the expected signal of the cantilever, respectively. Moreover, the phase of the measurement signal can be analysed by this method, which is important to understand the locking process of the PLL circuit. Besides the frequency analysis, experimental results and calibration measurements with different particle types are presented. Using the described analysis method, decent results to optimize a next

Self-assembling siloxane bilayer directly on SiO2 surface of micro-cantilevers for long-term highly repeatable sensing to trace explosives.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ying; Xu, Pengcheng; Li, Xinxin

2010-07-02

This paper presents a novel sensing layer modification technique for static micro-cantilever sensors that detect trace explosives by measuring specific adsorption-induced surface stress. For the first time, a method of directly modifying a siloxane sensing bilayer on an SiO(2) surface is proposed to replace the conventional self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiols on Au to avoid the trouble from long-term unstable Au-S bonds. For modifying the long-term reliable sensing bilayer on the piezoresistor-integrated micro-cantilevers, a siloxane-head bottom layer is self-assembled directly on the SiO(2) cantilever surface, which is followed by grafting another explosive-sensing-group functionalized molecule layer on top of the siloxane layer. The siloxane-modified sensor has experimentally exhibited a highly resoluble response to 0.1 ppb TNT vapor. More importantly, the repeated detection results after 140 days show no obvious attenuation in sensing signal. Also observed experimentally, the specific adsorption of the siloxane sensing bilayer to TNT molecules causes a tensile surface stress on the cantilever. Herein the measured tensile surface stress is in contrast to the compressive surface stress normally measured from conventional cantilever sensors where the sensitive thiol-SAMs are modified on an Au surface. The reason for this newly observed phenomenon is discussed and preliminarily analyzed.

Self-assembling siloxane bilayer directly on SiO2 surface of micro-cantilevers for long-term highly repeatable sensing to trace explosives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Ying; Xu Pengcheng; Li Xinxin

2010-01-01

This paper presents a novel sensing layer modification technique for static micro-cantilever sensors that detect trace explosives by measuring specific adsorption-induced surface stress. For the first time, a method of directly modifying a siloxane sensing bilayer on an SiO 2 surface is proposed to replace the conventional self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiols on Au to avoid the trouble from long-term unstable Au-S bonds. For modifying the long-term reliable sensing bilayer on the piezoresistor-integrated micro-cantilevers, a siloxane-head bottom layer is self-assembled directly on the SiO 2 cantilever surface, which is followed by grafting another explosive-sensing-group functionalized molecule layer on top of the siloxane layer. The siloxane-modified sensor has experimentally exhibited a highly resoluble response to 0.1 ppb TNT vapor. More importantly, the repeated detection results after 140 days show no obvious attenuation in sensing signal. Also observed experimentally, the specific adsorption of the siloxane sensing bilayer to TNT molecules causes a tensile surface stress on the cantilever. Herein the measured tensile surface stress is in contrast to the compressive surface stress normally measured from conventional cantilever sensors where the sensitive thiol-SAMs are modified on an Au surface. The reason for this newly observed phenomenon is discussed and preliminarily analyzed.

Effect of Diffusion Limitations on Multianalyte Determination from Biased Biosensor Response

Science.gov (United States)

Baronas, Romas; Kulys, Juozas; Lančinskas, Algirdas; Žilinskas, Antanas

2014-01-01

The optimization-based quantitative determination of multianalyte concentrations from biased biosensor responses is investigated under internal and external diffusion-limited conditions. A computational model of a biocatalytic amperometric biosensor utilizing a mono-enzyme-catalyzed (nonspecific) competitive conversion of two substrates was used to generate pseudo-experimental responses to mixtures of compounds. The influence of possible perturbations of the biosensor signal, due to a white noise- and temperature-induced trend, on the precision of the concentration determination has been investigated for different configurations of the biosensor operation. The optimization method was found to be suitable and accurate enough for the quantitative determination of the concentrations of the compounds from a given biosensor transient response. The computational experiments showed a complex dependence of the precision of the concentration estimation on the relative thickness of the outer diffusion layer, as well as on whether the biosensor operates under diffusion- or kinetics-limited conditions. When the biosensor response is affected by the induced exponential trend, the duration of the biosensor action can be optimized for increasing the accuracy of the quantitative analysis. PMID:24608006

Engineering an NADPH/NADP⁺ Redox Biosensor in Yeast

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Jie; Sonnenschein, Nikolaus; Pihl, Thomas Peter Boye

2016-01-01

Genetically encoded biosensors have emerged as powerful tools for timely and precise in vivo evaluation of cellular metabolism. In particular, biosensors that can couple intercellular cues with downstream signaling responses are currently attracting major attention within health science and biote......Genetically encoded biosensors have emerged as powerful tools for timely and precise in vivo evaluation of cellular metabolism. In particular, biosensors that can couple intercellular cues with downstream signaling responses are currently attracting major attention within health science...... in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using the biosensor, we are able to monitor the cause of oxidative stress by chemical induction, and changes in NADPH/NADP+ ratios caused by genetic manipulations. Because of the regulatory potential of the biosensor, we also show that the biosensor can actuate upon...... NADPH deficiency by activation of NADPH regeneration. Finally, we couple the biosensor with an expression of dosage-sensitive genes (DSGs) and thereby create a novel tunable sensor-selector useful for synthetic selection of cells with higher NADPH/NADP+ ratios from mixed cell populations. We show...

Background reduction in a young interferometer biosensor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mulder, H. K P; Subramaniam, V.; Kanger, J. S.

2014-01-01

Integrated optical Young interferometer (IOYI) biosensors are among the most sensitive label-free biosensors. Detection limits are in the range of 20 fg/mm2. The applicability of these sensors is however strongly hampered by the large background that originates from both bulk refractive index

Biosensor Urea Berbasis Biopolimer Khitin Sebagai Matriks Immobilisasi

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Nazruddin Nazaruddin

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Penelitian tentang biosensor urea menggunakan biopolimer khitin sebagai matriks immobilisasi telah dilakukan. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui kinerja biosensor yang dihasilkan yang meliputi sensitivitas, trayek pengukuran, limit deteksi, waktu respon, koefisien selektifitas, dan waktu hidup. Penelitian meliputi beberapa tahap yaitu pembuatan membran polimer khitin dan immobilisasi enzim urease, pelekatan membran khitin pada elektroda pH, dan pengukuran parameter kinerja elektroda. Hasil pengukuran menunjukkan sensitivitas biosensor urea berbasis membran khitin adalah 19,11 mV/dekade, trayek pengukuran 10-4 – 10-8 M, limit deteksi 10-8 M, waktu respon 3,10–6,02 menit, dengan urutan kekuatan ion penggangu: NH4Cl > NaCl > CH3COONa > campuran garam > KCl > CaCl2 > asam askorbat. Kata kunci: biosensor, immobilisasi, khitin, urea

Effect of annealing induced residual stress on the resonance frequency of SiO2 microcantilevers

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Balasubramanian, S.; Prabakar, K.; Tripura Sundari, S.

2018-04-01

In the present work, effect of residual stress, induced due to annealing of SiO2 microcantilevers (MCs) on their resonance frequency is studied. SiO2MCs of various dimensions were fabricated using direct laser writer & wet chemical etching method and were annealed at 800 °C in oxygen environment, post release. The residual stress was estimated from the deflection profile of the MCs measured using 3D optical microscope, before and after annealing. Resonance frequency of the MCs was measured using nano-vibration analyzer and was found to change after annealing. Further the frequency shift was found to depend on the MC dimensions. This is attributed to the large stress gradients induced by annealing and associated stiffness changes.

A general strategy to construct small molecule biosensors in eukaryotes.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Justin; Jester, Benjamin W; Tinberg, Christine E; Mandell, Daniel J; Antunes, Mauricio S; Chari, Raj; Morey, Kevin J; Rios, Xavier; Medford, June I; Church, George M; Fields, Stanley; Baker, David

2015-12-29

Biosensors for small molecules can be used in applications that range from metabolic engineering to orthogonal control of transcription. Here, we produce biosensors based on a ligand-binding domain (LBD) by using a method that, in principle, can be applied to any target molecule. The LBD is fused to either a fluorescent protein or a transcriptional activator and is destabilized by mutation such that the fusion accumulates only in cells containing the target ligand. We illustrate the power of this method by developing biosensors for digoxin and progesterone. Addition of ligand to yeast, mammalian, or plant cells expressing a biosensor activates transcription with a dynamic range of up to ~100-fold. We use the biosensors to improve the biotransformation of pregnenolone to progesterone in yeast and to regulate CRISPR activity in mammalian cells. This work provides a general methodology to develop biosensors for a broad range of molecules in eukaryotes.

Development of a Transcription Factor-Based Lactam Biosensor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Jingwei; Barajas, Jesus F.; Burdu, Mehmet

2017-01-01

Lactams are an important class of commodity chemicals used in the manufacture of nylons, with millions of tons produced every year. Biological production of lactams could be greatly improved by high-throughput sensors for lactam biosynthesis. To identify biosensors of lactams, we applied a chemoi......Lactams are an important class of commodity chemicals used in the manufacture of nylons, with millions of tons produced every year. Biological production of lactams could be greatly improved by high-throughput sensors for lactam biosynthesis. To identify biosensors of lactams, we applied...... a chemoinformatic approach inspired by small molecule drug discovery. We define this approach as analogue generation toward catabolizable chemicals or AGTC. We discovered a lactam biosensor based on the ChnR/Pb transcription factor-promoter pair. The microbial biosensor is capable of sensing ε-caprolactam, Î......´-valerolactam, and butyrolactam in a dose-dependent manner. The biosensor has sufficient specificity to discriminate against lactam biosynthetic intermediates and therefore could potentially be applied for high-throughput metabolic engineering for industrially important high titer lactam biosynthesis....

Whole-Cell Fluorescent Biosensors for Bioavailability and Biodegradation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls

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David Ryan

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Whole-cell microbial biosensors are one of the newest molecular tools used in environmental monitoring. Such biosensors are constructed through fusing a reporter gene such as lux, gfp or lacZ,to a responsive promoter. There have been many reports of the applications of biosensors, particularly their use in assaying pollutant toxicity and bioavailability. This paper reviews the basic concepts behind the construction of whole-cell microbial biosensors for pollutant monitoring, and describes the applications of two such biosensors for detecting the bioavailability and biodegradation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs.

Enzyme-linked, aptamer-based, competitive biolayer interferometry biosensor for palytoxin.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Shunxiang; Zheng, Xin; Hu, Bo; Sun, Mingjuan; Wu, Jihong; Jiao, Binghua; Wang, Lianghua

2017-03-15

In this study, we coupled biolayer interferometry (BLI) with competitive binding assay through an enzyme-linked aptamer and developed a real-time, ultra-sensitive, rapid quantitative method for detection of the marine biotoxin palytoxin. Horseradish peroxidase-labeled aptamers were used as biorecognition receptors to competitively bind with palytoxin, which was immobilized on the biosensor surface. The palytoxin: horseradish peroxidase-aptamer complex was then submerged in a 3,3'-diaminobenzidine solution, which resulted in formation of a precipitated polymeric product directly on the biosensor surface and a large change in the optical thickness of the biosensor layer. This change could obviously shift the interference pattern and generate a response profile on the BLI biosensor. The biosensor showed a broad linear range for palytoxin (200-700pg/mL) with a low detection limit (0.04pg/mL). Moreover, the biosensor was applied to the detection of palytoxin in spiked extracts and showed a high degree of selectivity for palytoxin, good reproducibility, and stability. This enzyme-linked, aptamer-based, competitive BLI biosensor offers a promising method for rapid and sensitive detection of palytoxin and other analytes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon nanotube biosensors

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Tîlmaciu, Carmen-Mihaela; Morris, May C.

2015-01-01

Nanomaterials possess unique features which make them particularly attractive for biosensing applications. In particular, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can serve as scaffolds for immobilization of biomolecules at their surface, and combine several exceptional physical, chemical, electrical, and optical characteristics properties which make them one of the best suited materials for the transduction of signals associated with the recognition of analytes, metabolites, or disease biomarkers. Here we provide a comprehensive review on these carbon nanostructures, in which we describe their structural and physical properties, functionalization and cellular uptake, biocompatibility, and toxicity issues. We further review historical developments in the field of biosensors, and describe the different types of biosensors which have been developed over time, with specific focus on CNT-conjugates engineered for biosensing applications, and in particular detection of cancer biomarkers. PMID:26579509

Carbon Nanotube Biosensors

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Carmen-Mihaela eTilmaciu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Nanomaterials possess unique features which make them particularly attractive for biosensing applications. In particular Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs can serve as scaffolds for immobilization of biomolecules at their surface, and combine several exceptional physical, chemical, electrical and optical characteristics properties which make them one of the best suited materials for the transduction of signals associated with the recognition of analytes, metabolites or disease biomarkers. Here we provide a comprehensive review on these carbon nanostructures, in which we will describe their structural and physical properties, discuss functionalization and cellular uptake, biocompatibility and toxicity issues. We further review historical developments in the field of biosensors, and describe the different types of biosensors which have been developed over time, with specific focus on CNT-conjugates engineered for biosensing applications, and in particular detection of cancer biomarkers.

Three Realizations and Comparison of Hardware for Piezoresistive Tactile Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal-Verdú, Fernando; Oballe-Peinado, Óscar; Sánchez-Durán, José A.; Castellanos-Ramos, Julián; Navas-González, Rafael

2011-01-01

Tactile sensors are basically arrays of force sensors that are intended to emulate the skin in applications such as assistive robotics. Local electronics are usually implemented to reduce errors and interference caused by long wires. Realizations based on standard microcontrollers, Programmable Systems on Chip (PSoCs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have been proposed by the authors for the case of piezoresistive tactile sensors. The solution employing FPGAs is especially relevant since their performance is closer to that of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) than that of the other devices. This paper presents an implementation of such an idea for a specific sensor. For the purpose of comparison, the circuitry based on the other devices is also made for the same sensor. This paper discusses the implementation issues, provides details regarding the design of the hardware based on the three devices and compares them. PMID:22163797

Applications of commercial biosensors in clinical, food, environmental, and biothreat/biowarfare analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahadır, Elif Burcu; Sezgintürk, Mustafa Kemal

2015-06-01

The lack of specific, low-cost, rapid, sensitive, and easy detection of biomolecules has resulted in the development of biosensor technology. Innovations in biosensor technology have enabled many biosensors to be commercialized and have enabled biomolecules to be detected onsite. Moreover, the emerging technologies of lab-on-a-chip microdevices and nanosensors offer opportunities for the development of new biosensors with much better performance. Biosensors were first introduced into the laboratory by Clark and Lyons. They developed the first glucose biosensor for laboratory conditions. Then in 1973, a glucose biosensor was commercialized by Yellow Springs Instruments. The commercial biosensors have small size and simple construction and they are ideal for point-of-care biosensing. In addition to glucose, a wide variety of metabolites such as lactate, cholesterol, and creatinine can be detected by using commercial biosensors. Like the glucose biosensors (tests) other commercial tests such as for pregnancy (hCG), Escherichia coli O157, influenza A and B viruses, Helicobacter pylori, human immunodeficiency virus, tuberculosis, and malaria have achieved success. Apart from their use in clinical analysis, commercial tests are also used in environmental (such as biochemical oxygen demand, nitrate, pesticide), food (such as glutamate, glutamine, sucrose, lactose, alcohol, ascorbic acid), and biothreat/biowarfare (Bacillus anthracis, Salmonella, Botulinum toxin) analysis. In this review, commercial biosensors in clinical, environmental, food, and biowarfare analysis are summarized and the commercial biosensors are compared in terms of their important characteristics. This is the first review in which all the commercially available tests are compiled together. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The procedure of ethanol determination in wine by enzyme amperometric biosensor

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Dzyadevych S. V.

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Aim. Development of the procedure of ethanol determination in wine by an enzyme amperometric biosensor. Methods. The amperometric biosensor method of ethanol analysis has been used in this work. Results. The paper presents comparative analysis of two methods of alcohol oxidase (AO immobilization for development of amperometric biosensor for ethanol determination in wine. The method of AO immobilization in glutaraldehyde vapour was chosen as optimal for this purpose. The selectivity, operational and storage stability, and pH-optimum for operation of the created biosensor were determined. The procedure of ethanol determination in wine by amperometric biosensor on the basis of platinum printed electrode SensLab and AO was optimized. The analysis of ethanol concentration in wine and must samples was carried out using the developed high-stable biosensor. A good correlation between the data obtained by the biosensor and densitometry methods was shown. Conclusion. The proposed method of ethanol analysis could be used in wine production

Hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on titanium oxide

Science.gov (United States)

Halim, Nur Hamidah Abdul; Heng, Lee Yook; Hashim, Uda

2015-09-01

In this work, a biosensor utilizing modified titania, TiO2 particles using aminopropyl-triethoxy-silane, (APTS) for developing hydrogen peroxide biosensor is presented. The surface of Ti-APTS particles is used as a support for hemoglobin immobilization via covalent bonding. The performance of the biosensor is determined by differential pulse voltammetry. The linear response was observed at the reduction current of redox mediator probe [FeCN6]3-/4- at potential between 0.22 V to 0.24 V. The preliminary result for electrochemistry study on this modified electrode is reported. The preliminary linear range is obtained from 1×10-2 M to 1×10-8 M.

Fabrication of Biosensors Based on Nanostructured Conducting Polyaniline (NSPANI

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Deepshikha SAINI

2011-11-01

Full Text Available In this study, glucose and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 biosensors based on nanostructured conducting polyaniline (NSPANI (synthesized using sodiumdodecyl sulphate (SDS as structure directing agent were developed. Because of the large specific surface area, excellent conductivity of NSPANI, horseradish peroxidase (HRP and glucose oxidase (GOx could be easily immobilized with high loading and activity. In addition the small dimensions and the high surface-to-volume ratio of the NSCP allow the rapid transmission of electron and enhance current response. The linear dynamic range of optical glucose and H2O2 biosensors is 5–40 mM for glucose and 1–50 mM for H2O2, respectively where as the bulk PANI exhibits linearity between 5-20 mM/l. The miniature optical glucose biosensor also exhibits good reproducibility. The storage stability of optical glucose and H2O2 biosensors is two weeks for glucose and five days for H2O2. The high response value of NSPANI based biosensors as compared to bulk PANI based biosensor reflects higher enzymatic affinity of GOx/NSPANI and HRP/NSPANI with glucose and H2O2 due to biocompatibility, active surface area and high electron communication capability of nanobiopolymer film. In conclusion, the NSPANI based biosensors proposed herein have many advantages such as a low response time, high reproducibility, high sensitivity, stable and wide dynamic range.

New type of Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors for Environments with Rapidly Changing Temperature

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Tykhan Myroslav

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The theoretical aspects of a new type of piezo-resistive pressure sensors for environments with rapidly changing temperatures are presented. The idea is that the sensor has two identical diaphragms which have different coefficients of linear thermal expansion. Therefore, when measuring pressure in environments with variable temperature, the diaphragms will have different deflection. This difference can be used to make appropriate correction of the sensor output signal and, thus, to increase accuracy of measurement. Since physical principles of sensors operation enable fast correction of the output signal, the sensor can be used in environments with rapidly changing temperature, which is its essential advantage. The paper presents practical implementation of the proposed theoretical aspects and the results of testing the developed sensor.

Fluorescent Biosensors Based on Single-Molecule Counting.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Fei; Li, Ying; Tang, Bo; Zhang, Chun-Yang

2016-09-20

Biosensors for highly sensitive, selective, and rapid quantification of specific biomolecules make great contributions to biomedical research, especially molecular diagnostics. However, conventional methods for biomolecular assays often suffer from insufficient sensitivity and poor specificity. In some case (e.g., early disease diagnostics), the concentration of target biomolecules is too low to be detected by these routine approaches, and cumbersome procedures are needed to improve the detection sensitivity. Therefore, there is an urgent need for rapid and ultrasensitive analytical tools. In this respect, single-molecule fluorescence approaches may well satisfy the requirement and hold promising potential for the development of ultrasensitive biosensors. Encouragingly, owing to the advances in single-molecule microscopy and spectroscopy over past decades, the detection of single fluorescent molecule comes true, greatly boosting the development of highly sensitive biosensors. By in vitro/in vivo labeling of target biomolecules with proper fluorescent tags, the quantification of certain biomolecule at the single-molecule level is achieved. In comparison with conventional ensemble measurements, single-molecule detection-based analytical methods possess the advantages of ultrahigh sensitivity, good selectivity, rapid analysis time, and low sample consumption. Consequently, single-molecule detection may be potentially employed as an ideal analytical approach to quantify low-abundant biomolecules with rapidity and simplicity. In this Account, we will summarize our efforts for developing a series of ultrasensitive biosensors based on single-molecule counting. Single-molecule counting is a member of single-molecule detection technologies and may be used as a very simple and ultrasensitive method to quantify target molecules by simply counting the individual fluorescent bursts. In the fluorescent sensors, the signals of target biomolecules may be translated to the

Recent Advances in Application of Biosensors in Tissue Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Arghya; Lee, Yong-kyu; Jaffa, Ayad A.

2014-01-01

Biosensors research is a fast growing field in which tens of thousands of papers have been published over the years, and the industry is now worth billions of dollars. The biosensor products have found their applications in numerous industries including food and beverages, agricultural, environmental, medical diagnostics, and pharmaceutical industries and many more. Even though numerous biosensors have been developed for detection of proteins, peptides, enzymes, and numerous other biomolecules for diverse applications, their applications in tissue engineering have remained limited. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in application of novel biosensors in cell culture and tissue engineering, for example, real-time detection of small molecules such as glucose, lactose, and H2O2 as well as serum proteins of large molecular size, such as albumin and alpha-fetoprotein, and inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-g and TNF-α. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent advancements in biosensors for tissue engineering applications. PMID:25165697

Recent Advances in Application of Biosensors in Tissue Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anwarul Hasan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Biosensors research is a fast growing field in which tens of thousands of papers have been published over the years, and the industry is now worth billions of dollars. The biosensor products have found their applications in numerous industries including food and beverages, agricultural, environmental, medical diagnostics, and pharmaceutical industries and many more. Even though numerous biosensors have been developed for detection of proteins, peptides, enzymes, and numerous other biomolecules for diverse applications, their applications in tissue engineering have remained limited. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in application of novel biosensors in cell culture and tissue engineering, for example, real-time detection of small molecules such as glucose, lactose, and H2O2 as well as serum proteins of large molecular size, such as albumin and alpha-fetoprotein, and inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-g and TNF-α. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent advancements in biosensors for tissue engineering applications.

Microbial fuel cell-based biosensor for toxic carbon monoxide monitoring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Shaofeng; Huang, Shaobin; Li, Yi

2018-01-01

This study presents an innovative microbial fuel cell-based biosensor for carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring. The hypothesis for the function of the biosensor is that CO inhibits bacterial activity in the anode and thereby reduces electricity production. A mature electrochemically active biofilm...... increasing CO concentration over 70%. Besides, the response time of the biosensor was 1 h. The compact design and simple operation of the biosensor makes it easy to be integrated in existing CO-based industrial facilities either as a forewarning sensor for CO toxicity or even as an individual on...

Biosensor Regeneration: A Review of Common Techniques and Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Goode, J A; Rushworth, J V H; Millner, P A

2015-06-16

Biosensors are ideally portable, low-cost tools for the rapid detection of pathogens, proteins, and other analytes. The global biosensor market is currently worth over 10 billion dollars annually and is a burgeoning field of interdisciplinary research that is hailed as a potential revolution in consumer, healthcare, and industrial testing. A key barrier to the widespread adoption of biosensors, however, is their cost. Although many systems have been validated in the laboratory setting and biosensors for a range of analytes are proven at the concept level, many have yet to make a strong commercial case for their acceptance. Though it is true with the development of cheaper electrodes, circuits, and components that there is a downward pressure on costs, there is also an emerging trend toward the development of multianalyte biosensors that is pushing in the other direction. One way to reduce the cost that is suitable for certain systems is to enable their reuse, thus reducing the cost per test. Regenerating biosensors is a technique that can often be used in conjunction with existing systems in order to reduce costs and accelerate the commercialization process. This article discusses the merits and drawbacks of regeneration schemes that have been proven in various biosensor systems and indicates parameters for successful regeneration based on a systematic review of the literature. It also outlines some of the difficulties encountered when considering the role of regeneration at the point of use. A brief meta-analysis has been included in this review to develop a working definition for biosensor regeneration, and using this analysis only ∼60% of the reported studies analyzed were deemed a success. This highlights the variation within the field and the need to normalize regeneration as a standard process across the field by establishing a consensus term.

Future of biosensors: a personal view.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheller, Frieder W; Yarman, Aysu; Bachmann, Till; Hirsch, Thomas; Kubick, Stefan; Renneberg, Reinhard; Schumacher, Soeren; Wollenberger, Ulla; Teller, Carsten; Bier, Frank F

2014-01-01

Biosensors representing the technological counterpart of living senses have found routine application in amperometric enzyme electrodes for decentralized blood glucose measurement, interaction analysis by surface plasmon resonance in drug development, and to some extent DNA chips for expression analysis and enzyme polymorphisms. These technologies have already reached a highly advanced level and need minor improvement at most. The dream of the "100-dollar" personal genome may come true in the next few years provided that the technological hurdles of nanopore technology or of polymerase-based single molecule sequencing can be overcome. Tailor-made recognition elements for biosensors including membrane-bound enzymes and receptors will be prepared by cell-free protein synthesis. As alternatives for biological recognition elements, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been created. They have the potential to substitute antibodies in biosensors and biochips for the measurement of low-molecular-weight substances, proteins, viruses, and living cells. They are more stable than proteins and can be produced in large amounts by chemical synthesis. Integration of nanomaterials, especially of graphene, could lead to new miniaturized biosensors with high sensitivity and ultrafast response. In the future individual therapy will include genetic profiling of isoenzymes and polymorphic forms of drug-metabolizing enzymes especially of the cytochrome P450 family. For defining the pharmacokinetics including the clearance of a given genotype enzyme electrodes will be a useful tool. For decentralized online patient control or the integration into everyday "consumables" such as drinking water, foods, hygienic articles, clothing, or for control of air conditioners in buildings and cars and swimming pools, a new generation of "autonomous" biosensors will emerge.

Smart cement modified with iron oxide nanoparticles to enhance the piezoresistive behavior and compressive strength for oil well applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vipulanandan, C; Mohammed, A

2015-01-01

In this study, smart cement with a 0.38 water-to-cement ratio was modified with iron oxide nanoparticles (NanoFe 2 O 3 ) to have better sensing properties, so that the behavior can be monitored at various stages of construction and during the service life of wells. A series of experiments evaluated the piezoresistive smart cement behavior with and without NanoFe 2 O 3 in order to identify the most reliable sensing properties that can also be relatively easily monitored. Tests were performed on the smart cement from the time of mixing to a hardened state behavior. When oil well cement (Class H) was modified with 0.1% of conductive filler, the piezoresistive behavior of the hardened smart cement was substantially improved without affecting the setting properties of the cement. During the initial setting the electrical resistivity changed with time based on the amount of NanoFe 2 O 3 used to modify the smart oil well cement. A new quantification concept has been developed to characterize the smart cement curing based on electrical resistivity changes in the first 24 h of curing. Addition of 1% NanoFe 2 O 3 increased the compressive strength of the smart cement by 26% and 40% after 1 day and 28 days of curing respectively. The modulus of elasticity of the smart cement increased with the addition of 1% NanoFe 2 O 3 by 29% and 28% after 1 day and 28 days of curing respectively. A nonlinear curing model was used to predict the changes in electrical resistivity with curing time. The piezoresistivity of smart cement with NanoFe 2 O 3 was over 750 times higher than the unmodified cement depending on the curing time and nanoparticle content. Also the nonlinear stress–strain and stress–change in resistivity relationships predicated the experimental results very well. Effects of curing time and NanoFe 2 O 3 content on the model parameters have been quantified using a nonlinear model. (paper)

Designed graphene-peptide nanocomposites for biosensor applications: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Li; Zhang, Yujie; Wu, Aiguo; Wei, Gang

2017-01-01

The modification of graphene with biomacromolecules like DNA, protein, peptide, and others extends the potential applications of graphene materials in various fields. The bound biomacromolecules could improve the biocompatibility and bio-recognition ability of graphene-based nanocomposites, therefore could greatly enhance their biosensing performances on both selectivity and sensitivity. In this review, we presented a comprehensive introduction and discussion on recent advance in the synthesis and biosensor applications of graphene-peptide nanocomposites. The biofunctionalization of graphene with specifically designed peptides, and the synthesis strategies of graphene-peptide (monomer, nanofibrils, and nanotubes) nanocomposites were demonstrated. On the other hand, the fabrication of graphene-peptide nanocomposite based biosensor architectures for electrochemical, fluorescent, electronic, and spectroscopic biosensing were further presented. This review includes nearly all the studies on the fabrication and applications of graphene-peptide based biosensors recently, which will promote the future developments of graphene-based biosensors in biomedical detection and environmental analysis. - Highlights: • A comprehensive review on the fabrication and application of graphene-peptide nanocomposites was presented. • The design of peptide sequences for biofunctionalization of various graphene materials was presented. • Multi-strategies on the fabrication of biosensors with graphene-peptide nanocomposites were discussed. • Designed graphene-peptide nanocomposites showed wide biosensor applications.

Recent advances in electrochemical biosensors based on graphene two-dimensional nanomaterials.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Yang; Luo, Yanan; Zhu, Chengzhou; Li, He; Du, Dan; Lin, Yuehe

2016-02-15

Graphene as a star among two-dimensional nanomaterials has attracted tremendous research interest in the field of electrochemistry due to their intrinsic properties, including the electronic, optical, and mechanical properties associated with their planar structure. The marriage of graphene and electrochemical biosensors has created many ingenious biosensing strategies for applications in the areas of clinical diagnosis and food safety. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in the development of graphene based electrochemical biosensors. Special attention is paid to graphene-based enzyme biosensors, immunosensors, and DNA biosensors. Future perspectives on high-performance graphene-based electrochemical biosensors are also discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biosensors for Whole-Cell Bacterial Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Rushworth, Jo V.; Hirst, Natalie A.; Millner, Paul A.

2014-01-01

SUMMARY Bacterial pathogens are important targets for detection and identification in medicine, food safety, public health, and security. Bacterial infection is a common cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In spite of the availability of antibiotics, these infections are often misdiagnosed or there is an unacceptable delay in diagnosis. Current methods of bacterial detection rely upon laboratory-based techniques such as cell culture, microscopic analysis, and biochemical assays. These procedures are time-consuming and costly and require specialist equipment and trained users. Portable stand-alone biosensors can facilitate rapid detection and diagnosis at the point of care. Biosensors will be particularly useful where a clear diagnosis informs treatment, in critical illness (e.g., meningitis) or to prevent further disease spread (e.g., in case of food-borne pathogens or sexually transmitted diseases). Detection of bacteria is also becoming increasingly important in antibioterrorism measures (e.g., anthrax detection). In this review, we discuss recent progress in the use of biosensors for the detection of whole bacterial cells for sensitive and earlier identification of bacteria without the need for sample processing. There is a particular focus on electrochemical biosensors, especially impedance-based systems, as these present key advantages in terms of ease of miniaturization, lack of reagents, sensitivity, and low cost. PMID:24982325

Nano technologies for Biosensor and Bio chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, I.M.; Park, T.J.; Paskaleva, E.E.; Sun, F.; Seo, J.W.; Mehta, K.K.

2015-01-01

The bio sensing devices are characterized by their biological receptors, which have specificity to their corresponding analytes. These analytes are a vast and diverse group of biological molecules, DNAs, proteins (such as antibodies), fatty acids, or entire biological systems, such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses, cancerous cells, or other living organisms. A main challenge in the development of biosensor applications is the efficient recognition of a biological signal in a low signal-to-noise ratio environment, and its transduction into an electrochemical, optical, or other signals. The advent of nano material technology greatly increased the potential for achieving exquisite sensitivity of such devises, due to the innate high surface-to-volume ratio and high reactivity of the nano material. The second major challenge facing the biosensor application, that of sca lability, is addressed by multiplexing and miniaturizing of the biosensor devises into a bio chip. In recent years, biosensor and bio chip technologies have made significant progress by taking advantages of diverse kinds of nano materials that are derived from nano technology

A novel conductometric biosensor based on hexokinase for determination of adenosine triphosphate.

Science.gov (United States)

Kucherenko, I S; Kucherenko, D Yu; Soldatkin, O O; Lagarde, F; Dzyadevych, S V; Soldatkin, A P

2016-04-01

The paper presents a simple and inexpensive reusable biosensor for determination of the concentration of adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) in aqueous samples. The biosensor is based on a conductometric transducer which contains two pairs of gold interdigitated electrodes. An enzyme hexokinase was immobilized onto one pair of electrodes, and bovine serum albumin-onto another pair (thus, a differential mode of measurement was used). Conditions of hexokinase immobilization on the transducer by cross-linking via glutaraldehyde were optimized. Influence of experimental conditions (concentration of magnesium ions, ionic strength and concentration of the working buffer) on the biosensor work was studied. The reproducibility of biosensor responses and operational stability of the biosensor were checked during one week. Dry storage at -18 °C was shown to be the best conditions to store the biosensor. The biosensor was successfully applied for measurements of ATP concentration in pharmaceutical samples. The proposed biosensor may be used in future for determination of ATP and/or glucose in water samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Redox-flexible NADH oxidase biosensor: A platform for various dehydrogenase bioassays and biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serban, Simona; El Murr, Nabil

2006-01-01

A generic amperometric bioassay based on the enzymatic oxidation catalysed by the stable NADH oxidase (NAox) from Thermus thermophilus has been developed for NADH measurements. The NAox uses O 2 as its natural electron acceptor and produces H 2 O 2 in a two-electron process. Electrochemical and spectrophotometric experiments showed that the NAox used in this work, presents a very good activity towards its substrate and, in contrary to previously mentioned NADH oxidases, does not require the addition of any exogenous flavin cofactor neither to promote nor to maintain its activity. In addition, the NAox used also works with artificial electron acceptors like ferrocene derivatives. O 2 was successfully replaced by redox mediators such as hydroxymethyl ferrocene (FcCH 2 OH) for the regeneration of the active enzyme. Combining the NAox with the mediator and the horseradish peroxidase we developed an original, high sensitive 'redox-flexible' NADH amperometric bioassay working in a large window of applied potentials in both oxidation and reduction modes. The biosensor has a continuous and complementary linearity range permitting to measure NADH concentrations starting from 5 x 10 -6 M in reduction until 2 x 10 3 M in oxidation. This redox-flexibility allows choosing the applied potential in order to avoid electrochemical interferences. The association of the 'redox-flexible' concept with NADH dependent enzymes opens a novel strategy for dehydrogenases based bioassays and biosensors. The great number of dehydrogenases available makes the concept applicable for numerous substrates to analyse. Moreover it allows the development of a wide range of biosensors on the basis of a generic platform. This gives several advantages over the previous manufacturing techniques and offers a general and flexible scheme for the fabrication of biosensors presenting high sensitivities, wide calibration ranges and less affected by electrochemical interferences

A mathematical model for the motion analysis of embedded straight microcantilevers under a pressure-driven flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ezkerra, A; Mayora, K; Ruano-López, J M; Wilson, P A

2008-01-01

A mathematical model that estimates the deflection of straight microcantilevers embedded in a microchannel under a pressure-driven flow at low Reynolds numbers is presented. The model makes use of the Schwarz–Christoffel mapping in order to couple the geometry of the structure and the flow passing around it. Therefore, it allows the determination of the most influential parameters and suitable modifications in order to achieve the desired performance. The model does not require specific knowledge of the flow conditions in the vicinity of the structure, which improves its practical use during the early stages of design. Estimations have been made for two straight cantilevers under a range of pressures. The results obtained show good agreement with measurements from experiments

Biosensors for detection of mercury in contaminated soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bontidean, Ibolya; Mortari, Alessia; Leth, Suzanne; Brown, Nigel L.; Karlson, Ulrich; Larsen, Martin M.; Vangronsveld, Jaco; Corbisier, Philippe; Csoeregi, Elisabeth

2004-01-01

Biosensors based on whole bacterial cells and on bacterial heavy metal binding protein were used to determine the mercury concentration in soil. The soil samples were collected in a vegetable garden accidentally contaminated with elemental mercury 25 years earlier. Bioavailable mercury was measured using different sensors: a protein-based biosensor, a whole bacterial cell based biosensor, and a plant sensor, i.e. morphological and biochemical responses in primary leaves and roots of bean seedlings grown in the mercury-contaminated soil. For comparison the total mercury concentration of the soil samples was determined by AAS. Whole bacterial cell and protein-based biosensors gave accurate responses proportional to the total amount of mercury in the soil samples. On the contrary, plant sensors were found to be less useful indicators of soil mercury contamination, as determined by plant biomass, mercury content of primary leaves and enzyme activities

CMOS Electrochemical Instrumentation for Biosensor Microsystems: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haitao Li

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Modern biosensors play a critical role in healthcare and have a quickly growing commercial market. Compared to traditional optical-based sensing, electrochemical biosensors are attractive due to superior performance in response time, cost, complexity and potential for miniaturization. To address the shortcomings of traditional benchtop electrochemical instruments, in recent years, many complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS instrumentation circuits have been reported for electrochemical biosensors. This paper provides a review and analysis of CMOS electrochemical instrumentation circuits. First, important concepts in electrochemical sensing are presented from an instrumentation point of view. Then, electrochemical instrumentation circuits are organized into functional classes, and reported CMOS circuits are reviewed and analyzed to illuminate design options and performance tradeoffs. Finally, recent trends and challenges toward on-CMOS sensor integration that could enable highly miniaturized electrochemical biosensor microsystems are discussed. The information in the paper can guide next generation electrochemical sensor design.

A novel biosensor method for surfactant determination based on acetylcholinesterase inhibition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kucherenko, I S; Soldatkin, O O; Arkhypova, V M; Dzyadevych, S V; Soldatkin, A P

2012-01-01

A novel enzyme biosensor based on acetylcholinesterase inhibition for the determination of surfactants in aqueous solutions is described. Acetylcholinesterase-based bioselective element was deposited via glutaraldehyde on the surface of conductometric transducers. Different variants of inhibitory analysis of surfactants were tested, and finally surfactant's concentration was evaluated by measuring initial rate of acetylcholinesterase inhibition. Besides, we studied the effect of solution characteristics on working parameters of the biosensor for direct measurement of acetylcholine and for inhibitory determination of surfactants. The biosensor's sensitivity to anionic and cationic surfactants (0.35 mg l −1 ) was tested. The high operational stability of the biosensor during determination of acetylcholine (RSD 2%) and surfactants (RSD 11%) was shown. Finally, we discussed the selectivity of the biosensor toward surfactants and other AChE inhibitors. The proposed biosensor can be used as a component of the multibiosensor for ecological monitoring of toxicants. (paper)

Nanopore biosensors for detection of proteins and nucleic acids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maglia, Giovanni; Soskine, Mikhael

2014-01-01

Described herein are nanopore biosensors based on a modified cytolysin protein. The nanopore biosensors accommodate macromoiecules including proteins and nucleic acids, and may additionally comprise ligands with selective binding properties.

Interdigitated electrodes as impedance and capacitance biosensors: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Mazlan, N. S.; Ramli, M. M.; Abdullah, M. M. A. B.; Halin, D. S. C.; Isa, S. S. M.; Talip, L. F. A.; Danial, N. S.; Murad, S. A. Z.

2017-09-01

Interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) are made of two individually addressable interdigitated comb-like electrode structures. IDEs are one of the most favored transducers, widely utilized in technological applications especially in the field of biological and chemical sensors due to their inexpensive, ease of fabrication process and high sensitivity. In order to detect and analyze a biochemical molecule or analyte, the impedance and capacitance signal need to be obtained. This paper investigates the working principle and influencer of the impedance and capacitance biosensors. The impedance biosensor depends on the resistance and capacitance while the capacitance biosensor influenced by the dielectric permittivity. However, the geometry and structures of the interdigitated electrodes affect both impedance and capacitance biosensor. The details have been discussed in this paper.

Nucleic Acids and Enzymes at Electrodes: Electrochemical Nanomedical Biosensors and Biofuel Cell Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ferapontova, Elena

Starting from the development of the first electrochemical biosensor for glucose, as far as in 1962, the electrochemical biosensor research area underwent a dramatic evolution both in scientific and commercial directions. At present, electrochemical biosensors are widely used in medical practice,...... perspectives of the biosensor research and such biotechnological applications as enzyme electrodes for sustainable energy production (6) will be discussed.......Starting from the development of the first electrochemical biosensor for glucose, as far as in 1962, the electrochemical biosensor research area underwent a dramatic evolution both in scientific and commercial directions. At present, electrochemical biosensors are widely used in medical practice......, by offering extremely sensitive and accurate yet simple, rapid, and inexpensive biosensing platforms (1). In this talk, I will discuss the developed at iNANO reagentless enzymatic biosensors, in which the enzyme is directly electronically coupled to the electrode (1-3), and advanced genosensor platforms...

Flexible Molybdenum Electrodes towards Designing Affinity Based Protein Biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamakoti, Vikramshankar; Panneer Selvam, Anjan; Radha Shanmugam, Nandhinee; Muthukumar, Sriram; Prasad, Shalini

2016-07-18

Molybdenum electrode based flexible biosensor on porous polyamide substrates has been fabricated and tested for its functionality as a protein affinity based biosensor. The biosensor performance was evaluated using a key cardiac biomarker; cardiac Troponin-I (cTnI). Molybdenum is a transition metal and demonstrates electrochemical behavior upon interaction with an electrolyte. We have leveraged this property of molybdenum for designing an affinity based biosensor using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. We have evaluated the feasibility of detection of cTnI in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and human serum (HS) by measuring impedance changes over a frequency window from 100 mHz to 1 MHz. Increasing changes to the measured impedance was correlated to the increased dose of cTnI molecules binding to the cTnI antibody functionalized molybdenum surface. We achieved cTnI detection limit of 10 pg/mL in PBS and 1 ng/mL in HS medium. The use of flexible substrates for designing the biosensor demonstrates promise for integration with a large-scale batch manufacturing process.

Preliminary study on piezoresistive and piezoelectric properties of a double-layer soft material for tactile sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan He

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a double-layer simplified sensor unit based on the interesting electromechanical properties of MWNT mixed by polymer composite and PVDF films, which is envisaged to imitate the distributed tactile receptors of human hands so as to help the disabled to recover the basic tactile perception. This paper shows the fabrication and performance research of such a new piezoelectric-piezoresistive composite material which indicates a promising .application in prosthtic hand.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.21.2.6454

Behavior of porous beryllium under thermomechanical loading. Part 7. Calibration studies on the carbon piezoresistive gage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horning, R.R.; Isbell, W.M.

1975-01-01

The calibrations, time responses, and Hugoniot for carbon piezoresistive gages from two manufacturers are presented. These gages exhibit a high sensitivity of about --20 percent resistance change per GPa at 0.5 GPa. Their equilibrium times, when tested in fused silica, exceed 0.6 μs below 0.5 GPa but improve at higher stresses and under better impedance matching conditions. They can be made of low atomic number materials, making them interesting candidates for studying the mechanical responses of materials to electron and x-ray deposition. (U.S.)

Recent advances in transition-metal dichalcogenides based electrochemical biosensors: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yi-Han; Huang, Ke-Jing; Wu, Xu

2017-11-15

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) comprise a category of two-dimensional (2D) materials that offer exciting properties, including large surface area, metallic and semi-conducting electrical capabilities, and intercalatable morphologies. Biosensors employ biological molecules to recognize the target and utilize output elements which can translate the biorecognition event into electrical, optical or mass-sensitive signals to determine the quantities of the target. TMDCs nanomaterials have been widely applied in various electrochemical biosensors with high sensitivity and selectivity. The marriage of TMDCs and electrochemical biosensors has created many productive sensing strategies for applications in the areas of clinical diagnosis, environmental monitoring and food safety. In recent years, an increasing number of TMDCs-based electrochemical biosensors are reported, suggesting TMDCs offers new possibilities of improving the performance of electrochemical biosensors. This review summarizes recent advances in electrochemical biosensors based on TMDCs for detection of various inorganic and organic analytes in the last five years, including glucose, proteins, DNA, heavy metal, etc. In addition, we also point out the challenges and future perspectives related to the material design and development of TMDCs-based electrochemical biosensors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A global benchmark study using affinity-based biosensors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rich, Rebecca L.; Papalia, Giusseppe A.; Krishnamoorthy, G.; Beusink, J.B.; Pak, Brian J.; Myszka, David G.; more, more

2009-01-01

To explore the variability in biosensor studies, 150 participants from 20 countries were given the same protein samples and asked to determine kinetic rate constants for the interaction. We chose a protein system that was amenable to analysis using different biosensor platforms as well as by users

Integrated microcantilevers for high-resolution sensing and probing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Xinxin; Lee, Dong-Weon

2012-01-01

This topical review is focused on microcantilever-based sensing and probing functions that are realized by integrating a mechanically compliant cantilever with self-sensing and self-actuating elements, specific sensing materials as well as functionalized nano-tips. Such integrated cantilever devices have shown great promise in ultra-sensitive applications such as on-the-spot portable bio/chemical detection and in situ micro/nanoscale surface analysis and manipulation. The technical details of this review will be given in a sequence of cantilever sensors and, then, cantilever-tip probes. For the integrated cantilever sensors, the frequency-output style dynamic cantilevers are described first, with the contents including optimized resonance modes, sensing-group-modified nanostructures for specific bio/chemical mass adsorption and nanoscale sensing effects, etc. Thereafter, the static cantilever sensors for surface-stress detection are described in the sequence of the sensing mechanism, surface modification of the sensitive molecule layer and the model of specific reaction-induced surface-energy variation. After technical description of the cantilever sensors, the emphasis of the review moves to functionalized nano-tip equipped cantilever-tip probing devices. The probing functions are not only integrated on the cantilever but also integrated at the sharp apex of the tip. After description of single integrated cantilever probes and their applications in surface scanning and imaging, arrayed cantilever-tip devices and their simultaneous parallel operation for high throughput imaging and nanomechanical data storage are also addressed. With cantilever-tip probes as key elements, micro-analysis instruments are introduced that can be widely used for macro/nanoscale characterizations. (topical review)

Roughness effect on the efficiency of dimer antenna based biosensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Barchiesi

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The fabrication process of nanodevices is continually improved. However, most of the nanodevices, such as biosensors present rough surfaces with mean roughness of some nanometers even if the deposition rate of material is more controlled. The effect of roughness on performance of biosensors was fully addressed for plane biosensors and gratings, but rarely addressed for biosensors based on Local Plasmon Resonance. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate numerically the influence of nanometric roughness on the efficiency of a dimer nano-biosensor (two levels of roughness are considered. Therefore, we propose a general numerical method, that can be applied to any other nanometric shape, to take into account the roughness in a three dimensional model. The study focuses on both the far-field, which corresponds to the experimental detected data, and the near-field, responsible for exciting and then detecting biological molecules. The results suggest that the biosensor efficiency is highly sensitive to the surface roughness. The roughness can produce important shifts of the extinction efficiency peak and a decrease of its amplitude resulting from changes in the distribution of near-field and absorbed electric field intensities.

Lignin and silicate based hydrogels for biosensor applications

Science.gov (United States)

Burrs, S. L.; Jairam, S.; Vanegas, D. C.; Tong, Z.; McLamore, E. S.

2013-05-01

Advances in biocompatible materials and electrocatalytic nanomaterials have extended and enhanced the field of biosensors. Immobilization of biorecognition elements on nanomaterial platforms is an efficient technique for developing high fidelity biosensors. Single layer (i.e., Langmuir-Blodgett) protein films are efficient, but disadvantages of this approach include high cost, mass transfer limitations, and Vromer competition for surface binding sites. There is a need for simple, user friendly protein-nanomaterial sensing membranes that can be developed in laboratories or classrooms (i.e., outside of the clean room). In this research, we develop high fidelity nanomaterial platforms for developing electrochemical biosensors using sustainable biomaterials and user-friendly deposition techniques. Catalytic nanomaterial platforms are developed using a combination of self assembled monolayer chemistry and electrodeposition. High performance biomaterials (e.g., nanolignin) are recovered from paper pulp waste and combined with proteins and nanomaterials to form active sensor membranes. These methods are being used to develop electrochemical biosensors for studying physiological transport in biomedical, agricultural, and environmental applications.

Nuclear track-based biosensors with the enzyme laccase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

García-Arellano, H. [Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, División de Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Lerma, Av. de las Garzas No. 10, Col. El Panteón, Lerma de Villada, Municipio de Lerma, Estado de México, C.P. 52005 (Mexico); Fink, D., E-mail: fink@xanum.uam.mx [Division de Ciencias Naturales e Ingeneria, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Cuajimalpa, Artificios 40, Col. Hidalgo, Del. Álvaro Obregón C.P. 01120, México, D.F. (Mexico); Nuclear Physics Institute, 25068 Řež (Czech Republic); Muñoz Hernández, G. [Division de Ciencias Naturales e Ingeneria, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Cuajimalpa, Artificios 40, Col. Hidalgo, Del. Álvaro Obregón C.P. 01120, México, D.F. (Mexico); Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, PO Box 55-534, 09340 México, D.F. (Mexico); Vacík, J.; Hnatowicz, V. [Nuclear Physics Institute, 25068 Řež (Czech Republic); Alfonta, L. [Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, PO Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105 (Israel)

2014-08-15

Highlights: • We construct a biosensor using polymer foils with laccase-clad etched nuclear tracks. • We use the biosensor for quantitation of phenolic compounds. • The biosensor can detect picomolar concentrations for some phenolic compounds. - Abstract: A new type of biosensors for detecting phenolic compounds is presented here. These sensors consist of thin polymer foils with laccase-clad etched nuclear tracks. The presence of suitable phenolic compounds in the sensors leads to the formation of enzymatic reaction products in the tracks, which differ in their electrical conductivities from their precursor materials. These differences correlate with the concentrations of the phenolic compounds. Corresponding calibration curves have been established for a number of compounds. The sensors thus produced are capable to cover between 5 and 9 orders of magnitude in concentration – in the best case down to some picomoles. The sensor's detection sensitivity strongly depends on the specific compound. It is highest for caffeic acid and acid blue 74, followed by ABTS and ferulic acid.

Calibration method for a carbon nanotube field-effect transistor biosensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, Masuhiro; Murata, Katsuyuki; Ataka, Tatsuaki; Matsumoto, Kazuhiko

2008-01-01

An easy calibration method based on the Langmuir adsorption theory is proposed for a carbon nanotube field-effect transistor (NTFET) biosensor. This method was applied to three NTFET biosensors that had approximately the same structure but exhibited different characteristics. After calibration, their experimentally determined characteristics exhibited a good agreement with the calibration curve. The reason why the observed characteristics of these NTFET biosensors differed among the devices was that the carbon nanotube (CNT) that formed the channel was not uniform. Although the controlled growth of a CNT is difficult, it is shown that an NTFET biosensor can be easy calibrated using the proposed calibration method, regardless of the CNT channel structures

Scattering-Type Surface-Plasmon-Resonance Biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yu; Pain, Bedabrata; Cunningham, Thomas; Seshadri, Suresh

2005-01-01

Biosensors of a proposed type would exploit scattering of light by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Related prior biosensors exploit absorption of light by SPR. Relative to the prior SPR biosensors, the proposed SPR biosensors would offer greater sensitivity in some cases, enough sensitivity to detect bioparticles having dimensions as small as nanometers. A surface plasmon wave can be described as a light-induced collective oscillation in electron density at the interface between a metal and a dielectric. At SPR, most incident photons are either absorbed or scattered at the metal/dielectric interface and, consequently, reflected light is greatly attenuated. The resonance wavelength and angle of incidence depend upon the permittivities of the metal and dielectric. An SPR sensor of the type most widely used heretofore includes a gold film coated with a ligand a substance that binds analyte molecules. The gold film is thin enough to support evanescent-wave coupling through its thickness. The change in the effective index of refraction at the surface, and thus the change in the SPR response, increases with the number of bound analyte molecules. The device is illuminated at a fixed wavelength, and the intensity of light reflected from the gold surface opposite the ligand-coated surface is measured as a function of the angle of incidence. From these measurements, the angle of minimum reflection intensity is determined

Development and Applications of Portable Biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Srinivasan, Balaji; Tung, Steve

2015-08-01

The significance of microfluidics-based and microelectromechanical systems-based biosensors has been widely acknowledged, and many reviews have explored their potential applications in clinical diagnostics, personalized medicine, global health, drug discovery, food safety, and forensics. Because health care costs are increasing, there is an increasing need to remotely monitor the health condition of patients by point-of-care-testing. The demand for biosensors for detection of biological warfare agents has increased, and research is focused on ways of producing small portable devices that would allow fast, accurate, and on-site detection. In the past decade, the demand for rapid and accurate on-site detection of plant disease diagnosis has increased due to emerging pathogens with resistance to pesticides, increased human mobility, and regulations limiting the application of toxic chemicals to prevent spread of diseases. The portability of biosensors for on-site diagnosis is limited due to various issues, including sample preparation techniques, fluid-handling techniques, the limited lifetime of biological reagents, device packaging, integrating electronics for data collection/analysis, and the requirement of external accessories and power. Many microfluidic, electronic, and biological design strategies, such as handling liquids in biosensors without pumps/valves, the application of droplet-based microfluidics, paper-based microfluidic devices, and wireless networking capabilities for data transmission, are being explored. © 2015 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

Nanomaterials-based enzyme electrochemical biosensors operating through inhibition for biosensing applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurbanoglu, Sevinc; Ozkan, Sibel A; Merkoçi, Arben

2017-03-15

In recent years great progress has been made in applying nanomaterials to design novel biosensors. Use of nanomaterials offers to biosensing platforms exceptional optical, electronic and magnetic properties. Nanomaterials can increase the surface of the transducing area of the sensors that in turn bring an increase in catalytic behaviors. They have large surface-to-volume ratio, controlled morphology and structure that also favor miniaturization, an interesting advantage when the sample volume is a critical issue. Biosensors have great potential for achieving detect-to-protect devices: devices that can be used in detections of pollutants and other treating compounds/analytes (drugs) protecting citizens' life. After a long term focused scientific and financial efforts/supports biosensors are expected now to fulfill their promise such as being able to perform sampling and analysis of complex samples with interest for clinical or environment fields. Among all types of biosensors, enzymatic biosensors, the most explored biosensing devices, have an interesting property, the inherent inhibition phenomena given the enzyme-substrate complex formation. The exploration of such phenomena is making remarkably important their application as research and applied tools in diagnostics. Different inhibition biosensor systems based on nanomaterials modification has been proposed and applied. The role of nanomaterials in inhibition-based biosensors for the analyses of different groups of drugs as well as contaminants such as pesticides, phenolic compounds and others, are discussed in this review. This deep analysis of inhibition-based biosensors that employ nanomaterials will serve researchers as a guideline for further improvements and approaching of these devices to real sample applications so as to reach society needs and such biosensor market demands. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ring-Interferometric Sol-Gel Bio-Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Bearman, Gregory (Inventor); Cohen, David (Inventor)

2006-01-01

A biosensor embodying the invention includes a sensing volume having an array of pores sized for immobilizing a first biological entity tending to bind to a second biological entity in such a manner as to change an index of refraction of the sensing volume. The biosensor further includes a ring interferometer, one volumetric section of the ring interferometer being the sensing volume, a laser for supplying light to the ring interferometer, and a photodetector for receiving light from the interferometer.

Testing of a single-polarity piezoresistive three-dimensional stress-sensing chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gharib, H H; Moussa, W A

2013-01-01

A new piezoresistive stress-sensing rosette is developed to extract the components of the three-dimensional (3D) stress tensor using single-polarity (n-type) piezoresistors. This paper presents the testing of a micro-fabricated sensing chip utilizing the developed single-polarity rosette. The testing is conducted using a four-point bending of a chip-on-beam to induce five controlled stress components, which are analyzed both numerically and experimentally. Numerical analysis using finite element analysis is conducted to study the levels of the induced stress components at three rosette-sites and the levels of the stress field non-uniformities, and to simulate the extracted stress components from the sensing rosette. The experimental analysis applied tensile and compressive loads over three rosette-sites at different load increments. The experimentally extracted stress components show good linearity with the applied load and values close to the numerical model. (paper)

Development of biosensors and their application in metabolic engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Jie; Jensen, Michael Krogh; Keasling, Jay

2015-01-01

and ease of implementation with high-throughput analysis. Here we describe recent progress in biosensor development and their applications in a metabolic engineering context. We also highlight examples of how biosensors can be integrated with synthetic circuits to exert feedback regulation...... for the desired phenotypes. However, methods available for microbial genome diversification far exceed our ability to screen and select for those variants with optimal performance. Genetically encoded biosensors have shown the potential to address this gap, given their ability to respond to small molecule binding...

Bacterial host and reporter gene optimization for genetically encoded whole cell biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Brutesco, Catherine; Prévéral, Sandra; Escoffier, Camille; Descamps, Elodie C T; Prudent, Elsa; Cayron, Julien; Dumas, Louis; Ricquebourg, Manon; Adryanczyk-Perrier, Géraldine; de Groot, Arjan; Garcia, Daniel; Rodrigue, Agnès; Pignol, David; Ginet, Nicolas

2017-01-01

Whole-cell biosensors based on reporter genes allow detection of toxic metals in water with high selectivity and sensitivity under laboratory conditions; nevertheless, their transfer to a commercial inline water analyzer requires specific adaptation and optimization to field conditions as well as economical considerations. We focused here on both the influence of the bacterial host and the choice of the reporter gene by following the responses of global toxicity biosensors based on constitutive bacterial promoters as well as arsenite biosensors based on the arsenite-inducible P ars promoter. We observed important variations of the bioluminescence emission levels in five different Escherichia coli strains harboring two different lux-based biosensors, suggesting that the best host strain has to be empirically selected for each new biosensor under construction. We also investigated the bioluminescence reporter gene system transferred into Deinococcus deserti, an environmental, desiccation- and radiation-tolerant bacterium that would reduce the manufacturing costs of bacterial biosensors for commercial water analyzers and open the field of biodetection in radioactive environments. We thus successfully obtained a cell survival biosensor and a metal biosensor able to detect a concentration as low as 100 nM of arsenite in D. deserti. We demonstrated that the arsenite biosensor resisted desiccation and remained functional after 7 days stored in air-dried D. deserti cells. We also report here the use of a new near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent reporter candidate, a bacteriophytochrome from the magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1, which showed a NIR fluorescent signal that remained optimal despite increasing sample turbidity, while in similar conditions, a drastic loss of the lux-based biosensors signal was observed.

Biosensors engineered from conditionally stable ligand-binding domains

Science.gov (United States)

Church, George M.; Feng, Justin; Mandell, Daniel J.; Baker, David; Fields, Stanley; Jester, Benjamin Ward; Tinberg, Christine Elaine

2017-09-19

Disclosed is a biosensor engineered to conditionally respond to the presence of specific small molecules, the biosensors including conditionally stable ligand-binding domains (LBDs) which respond to the presence of specific small molecules, wherein readout of binding is provided by reporter genes or transcription factors (TFs) fused to the LBDs.

A Study of Wearable Bio-Sensor Technologies and Applications in Healthcare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Mehmood

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In today’s world the rapid advancements in Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS and Nano technology have improved almost all the aspects of daily life routine with the help of different smart devices such as smart phones, compact electronic devices etc. The prime example of these emerging developments is the development of wireless sensors for healthcare procedures. One kind of these sensors is wearable bio-sensors. In this paper, the technologies of two types of bio-sensors (ECG, EMG are investigated and also compared with traditional ECG, EMG equipment. We have taken SHIMMERTM wireless sensor platform as an example of wearable biosensors technology. We have investigated the systems developed for analysis techniques with SHIMMERTM ECG and EMG wearable bio-sensors and these biosensors are used in continuous remote monitoring. For example, applications in continuous health monitoring of elderly people, critical chronic patients and Fitness & Fatigue observations. Nevertheless, early fall detection in older adults and weak patients, treatment efficacy assessment. This study not only provides the basic concepts of wearable wireless bio-sensors networks (WBSN, but also provides basic knowledge of different sensor platforms available for patient’s remote monitoring. Also various healthcare applications by using bio-sensors are discussed and in last comparison with traditional ECG and EMG is presented.

Self-assembling siloxane bilayer directly on SiO{sub 2} surface of micro-cantilevers for long-term highly repeatable sensing to trace explosives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen Ying; Xu Pengcheng; Li Xinxin, E-mail: xxli@mail.sim.ac.cn [State Key Lab of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China)

2010-07-02

This paper presents a novel sensing layer modification technique for static micro-cantilever sensors that detect trace explosives by measuring specific adsorption-induced surface stress. For the first time, a method of directly modifying a siloxane sensing bilayer on an SiO{sub 2} surface is proposed to replace the conventional self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiols on Au to avoid the trouble from long-term unstable Au-S bonds. For modifying the long-term reliable sensing bilayer on the piezoresistor-integrated micro-cantilevers, a siloxane-head bottom layer is self-assembled directly on the SiO{sub 2} cantilever surface, which is followed by grafting another explosive-sensing-group functionalized molecule layer on top of the siloxane layer. The siloxane-modified sensor has experimentally exhibited a highly resoluble response to 0.1 ppb TNT vapor. More importantly, the repeated detection results after 140 days show no obvious attenuation in sensing signal. Also observed experimentally, the specific adsorption of the siloxane sensing bilayer to TNT molecules causes a tensile surface stress on the cantilever. Herein the measured tensile surface stress is in contrast to the compressive surface stress normally measured from conventional cantilever sensors where the sensitive thiol-SAMs are modified on an Au surface. The reason for this newly observed phenomenon is discussed and preliminarily analyzed.

Development of mercury (II) ion biosensors based on mercury-specific oligonucleotide probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lanying; Wen, Yanli; Xu, Li; Xu, Qin; Song, Shiping; Zuo, Xiaolei; Yan, Juan; Zhang, Weijia; Liu, Gang

2016-01-15

Mercury (II) ion (Hg(2+)) contamination can be accumulated along the food chain and cause serious threat to the public health. Plenty of research effort thus has been devoted to the development of fast, sensitive and selective biosensors for monitoring Hg(2+). Thymine was demonstrated to specifically combine with Hg(2+) and form a thymine-Hg(2+)-thymine (T-Hg(2+)-T) structure, with binding constant even higher than T-A Watson-Crick pair in DNA duplex. Recently, various novel Hg(2+) biosensors have been developed based on T-rich Mercury-Specific Oligonucleotide (MSO) probes, and exhibited advanced selectivity and excellent sensitivity for Hg(2+) detection. In this review, we explained recent development of MSO-based Hg(2+) biosensors mainly in 3 groups: fluorescent biosensors, colorimetric biosensors and electrochemical biosensors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fiber Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance-Based Biosensor Technique: Fabrication, Advancement, and Application.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Gaoling; Luo, Zewei; Liu, Kunping; Wang, Yimin; Dai, Jianxiong; Duan, Yixiang

2016-05-03

Fiber optic-based biosensors with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology are advanced label-free optical biosensing methods. They have brought tremendous progress in the sensing of various chemical and biological species. This review summarizes four sensing configurations (prism, grating, waveguide, and fiber optic) with two ways, attenuated total reflection (ATR) and diffraction, to excite the surface plasmons. Meanwhile, the designs of different probes (U-bent, tapered, and other probes) are also described. Finally, four major types of biosensors, immunosensor, DNA biosensor, enzyme biosensor, and living cell biosensor, are discussed in detail for their sensing principles and applications. Future prospects of fiber optic-based SPR sensor technology are discussed.

Integrated multienzyme electrochemical biosensors for the determination of glycerol in wines.

Science.gov (United States)

Gamella, M; Campuzano, S; Reviejo, A J; Pingarrón, J M

2008-02-25

The construction and performance of integrated amperometric biosensors for the determination of glycerol are reported. Two different biosensor configurations have been evaluated: one based on the glycerol dehydrogenase/diaphorase (GDH/DP) bienzyme system, and another using glycerol kinase/glycerol-3-phosphate oxidase/peroxidase (GK/GPOx/HRP). Both enzyme systems were immobilized together with the mediator tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) on a 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-modified gold electrode by using a dialysis membrane. The electrochemical oxidation of TTF at +150mV (vs. Ag/AgCl), and the reduction of TTF(+) at 0mV were used for the monitoring of the enzyme reactions for the bienzyme and trienzyme configurations, respectively. Experimental variables concerning both the biosensors composition and the working conditions were optimized for each configuration. A good repeatability of the measurements with no need of cleaning or pretreatment of the biosensors was obtained in both cases. After 51 days of use, the GDH/DP biosensor still exhibited 87% of the original sensitivity, while the GK/GPOx/HRP biosensor yielded a 46% of the original response after 8 days. Calibration graphs for glycerol with linear ranges of 1.0x10(-6) to 2.0x10(-5) or 1.0x10(-6) to 1.0x10(-5)M glycerol and sensitivities of 1214+/-21 or 1460+/-34microAM(-1) were obtained with GDH/DP and GK/GPOx/HRP biosensors, respectively. The calculated detection limits were 4.0x10(-7) and 3.1x10(-7)M, respectively. The biosensors exhibited a great sensitivity with no significant interferences in the analysis of wines. The biosensors were applied to the determination of glycerol in 12 different wines and the results advantageously compared with those provided by a commercial enzyme kit.

Rectified tunneling current response of bio-functionalized metal-bridge-metal junctions.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yaqing; Offenhäusser, Andreas; Mayer, Dirk

2010-01-15

Biomolecular bridged nanostructures allow direct electrical addressing of electroactive biomolecules, which is of interest for the development of bioelectronic and biosensing hybrid junctions. In the present paper, the electroactive biomolecule microperoxidase-11 (MP-11) was integrated into metal-bridge-metal (MBM) junctions assembled from a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) setup. Before immobilization of MP-11, the Au working electrode was first modified by a self-assembled monolayer of 1-undecanethiol (UDT). A symmetric and potential independent response of current-bias voltage (I(t)/V(b)) was observed for the Au (substrate)/UDT/Au (tip) junction. However, the I(t)/V(b) characteristics became potential dependent and asymmetrical after binding of MP-11 between the electrodes of the junction. The rectification ratio of the asymmetric current response varies with gate electrode modulation. A resonant tunneling process between metal electrode and MP-11 enhances the tunneling current and is responsible for the observed rectification. Our investigations demonstrated that functional building blocks of proteins can be reassembled into new conceptual devices with operation modes deviating from their native function, which could prove highly useful in the design of future biosensors and bioelectronic devices. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanomaterials towards fabrication of cholesterol biosensors: Key roles and design approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Saxena, Urmila; Das, Asim Bikas

2016-01-15

Importance of cholesterol biosensors is already recognized in the clinical diagnosis of cardiac and brain vascular diseases as discernible from the enormous amount of research in this field. Nevertheless, the practical application of a majority of the fabricated cholesterol biosensors is ordinarily limited by their inadequate performance in terms of one or more analytical parameters including stability, sensitivity and detection limit. Nanoscale materials offer distinctive size tunable electronic, catalytic and optical properties which opened new opportunities for designing highly efficient biosensor devices. Incorporation of nanomaterials in biosensing devices has found to improve the electroactive surface, electronic conductivity and biocompatibility of the electrode surfaces which then improves the analytical performance of the biosensors. Here we have reviewed recent advances in nanomaterial-based cholesterol biosensors. Foremost, the diverse roles of nanomaterials in these sensor systems have been discussed. Later, we have exhaustively explored the strategies used for engineering cholesterol biosensors with nanotubes, nanoparticles and nanocomposites. Finally, this review concludes with future outlook signifying some challenges of these nanoengineered cholesterol sensors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Highly Sensitive Polymer-based Cantilever-sensors for DNA Detection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gomez, Montserrat; Nordström, Maria; Alvarez, M.

2005-01-01

We present a technology for the fabrication of cantilever arrays aimed to develop an integrated biosensor microsystem. The fabrication process is based on spin coating of the photosensitive polymer and near-ultraviolet exposure. Arrays of up to 33 microcantilevers are fabricated in the novel...... polymer material SU-8. The low Young's modulus of the polymer, 40 times lower than that of silicon, enables to improve the sensitivity of the sensor device for target detection. The mechanical properties of SU-8 cantilevers, such as spring constant, resonant frequency and quality factor are characterized...

Electrochemical Aptamer Scaffold Biosensors for Detection of Botulism and Ricin Proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel, Jessica; Fetter, Lisa; Jett, Susan; Rowland, Teisha J; Bonham, Andrew J

2017-01-01

Electrochemical DNA (E-DNA) biosensors enable the detection and quantification of a variety of molecular targets, including oligonucleotides, small molecules, heavy metals, antibodies, and proteins. Here we describe the design, electrode preparation and sensor attachment, and voltammetry conditions needed to generate and perform measurements using E-DNA biosensors against two protein targets, the biological toxins ricin and botulinum neurotoxin. This method can be applied to generate E-DNA biosensors for the detection of many other protein targets, with potential advantages over other systems including sensitive detection limits typically in the nanomolar range, real-time monitoring, and reusable biosensors.

The blocking reagent optimization for the magnetoelastic biosensor

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jiajia; Chai, Yating; Horikawa, Shin; Wikle, Howard C.; Wang, Feng'en; Du, Songtao; Chin, Bryan A.; Hu, Jing

2015-06-01

The wireless phage-based magnetoelastic (ME) biosensor has proven to be promising for real-time detection of pathogenic bacteria on fresh produces. The ME biosensor consists of a freestanding ME resonator as the signal transducer and filamentous phage as the biomolecular-recognition element, which can specifically bind to a pathogen of interest. Due to the Joule magnetostriction effect, the biosensors can be placed into mechanical resonance when subjected to a time-varying magnetic field alternating at the sensor's resonant frequency. Upon the attachment of the target pathogen, the mass of the biosensor increases, thereby decreasing its resonant frequency. This paper presents an investigation of blocking reagents immobilization for detecting Salmonella Typhimurium on fresh food surfaces. Three different blocking reagents (BSA, SuperBlock blocking buffer, and blocker BLOTTO) were used and compared. The optical microscope was used for bacterial cells binding observation. Student t-test was used to statistically analysis the experiment results. The results shows that SuperBlock blocking buffer and blocker BLOTTO have much better blocking performance than usually used BSA.

Inkjet printing for biosensor fabrication: combining chemistry and technology for advanced manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jia; Rossignol, Fabrice; Macdonald, Joanne

2015-06-21

Inkjet printing is emerging at the forefront of biosensor fabrication technologies. Parallel advances in both ink chemistry and printers have led to a biosensor manufacturing approach that is simple, rapid, flexible, high resolution, low cost, efficient for mass production, and extends the capabilities of devices beyond other manufacturing technologies. Here we review for the first time the factors behind successful inkjet biosensor fabrication, including printers, inks, patterning methods, and matrix types. We discuss technical considerations that are important when moving beyond theoretical knowledge to practical implementation. We also highlight significant advances in biosensor functionality that have been realised through inkjet printing. Finally, we consider future possibilities for biosensors enabled by this novel combination of chemistry and technology.

Prediction of the limit of detection of an optical resonant reflection biosensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Jongcheol; Kim, Kyung-Hyun; Shin, Jae-Heon; Huh, Chul; Sung, Gun Yong

2007-07-09

A prediction of the limit of detection of an optical resonant reflection biosensor is presented. An optical resonant reflection biosensor using a guided-mode resonance filter is one of the most promising label-free optical immunosensors due to a sharp reflectance peak and a high sensitivity to the changes of optical path length. We have simulated this type of biosensor using rigorous coupled wave theory to calculate the limit of detection of the thickness of the target protein layer. Theoretically, our biosensor has an estimated ability to detect thickness change approximately the size of typical antigen proteins. We have also investigated the effects of the absorption and divergence of the incident light on the detection ability of the biosensor.

Design and measurement of a piezoresistive triaxial accelerometer based on MEMS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Chunhui; He Changde; Yu Jiaqi; Ge Xiaoyang; Zhang Wendong; Zhang Yongping

2012-01-01

With the springing up of the MEMS industry, research on accelerometers is focused on miniaturization, integration, high reliability, and high resolution, and shares extensive application prospects in military and civil fields. Comparing with the traditional single cantilever beam structure or 'cantilever-mass' structure, the proposed structure of '8-beams/mass' with its varistor completely symmetric distribution in micro-silicon piezoresistive triaxial accelerometer in this paper has a higher axial sensitivity and smaller cross-axis sensitivity. Adopting ANSYS, the process of structural analysis and the manufacturing flow of sensing unit are showed. In dynamic testing conditions, it can be concluded that the axial sensitivity of x, y, and z are S x = 48 μV/g, S y = 54 μV/g and S z = 217 μV/g respectively, and the nonlinearities are 0.4%, 0.6% and 0.4%.

Microbially derived biosensors for diagnosis, monitoring and epidemiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Hung-Ju; Voyvodic, Peter L; Zúñiga, Ana; Bonnet, Jérôme

2017-09-01

Living cells have evolved to detect and process various signals and can self-replicate, presenting an attractive platform for engineering scalable and affordable biosensing devices. Microbes are perfect candidates: they are inexpensive and easy to manipulate and store. Recent advances in synthetic biology promise to streamline the engineering of microbial biosensors with unprecedented capabilities. Here we review the applications of microbially-derived biosensors with a focus on environmental monitoring and healthcare applications. We also identify critical challenges that need to be addressed in order to translate the potential of synthetic microbial biosensors into large-scale, real-world applications. © 2017 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

A protocatechuate biosensor for Pseudomonas putida KT2440 via promoter and protein evolution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramesh K. Jha

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Robust fluorescence-based biosensors are emerging as critical tools for high-throughput strain improvement in synthetic biology. Many biosensors are developed in model organisms where sophisticated synthetic biology tools are also well established. However, industrial biochemical production often employs microbes with phenotypes that are advantageous for a target process, and biosensors may fail to directly transition outside the host in which they are developed. In particular, losses in sensitivity and dynamic range of sensing often occur, limiting the application of a biosensor across hosts. Here we demonstrate the optimization of an Escherichia coli-based biosensor in a robust microbial strain for the catabolism of aromatic compounds, Pseudomonas putida KT2440, through a generalizable approach of modulating interactions at the protein-DNA interface in the promoter and the protein-protein dimer interface. The high-throughput biosensor optimization approach demonstrated here is readily applicable towards other allosteric regulators. Keywords: Whole cell biosensor, Aromatic catabolism, Transcription factor, PcaU, Shikimate

Potentiometric urea biosensor based on an immobilised fullerene-urease bio-conjugate.

Science.gov (United States)

Saeedfar, Kasra; Heng, Lee Yook; Ling, Tan Ling; Rezayi, Majid

2013-12-06

A novel method for the rapid modification of fullerene for subsequent enzyme attachment to create a potentiometric biosensor is presented. Urease was immobilized onto the modified fullerene nanomaterial. The modified fullerene-immobilized urease (C60-urease) bioconjugate has been confirmed to catalyze the hydrolysis of urea in solution. The biomaterial was then deposited on a screen-printed electrode containing a non-plasticized poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PnBA) membrane entrapped with a hydrogen ionophore. This pH-selective membrane is intended to function as a potentiometric urea biosensor with the deposition of C60-urease on the PnBA membrane. Various parameters for fullerene modification and urease immobilization were investigated. The optimal pH and concentration of the phosphate buffer for the urea biosensor were 7.0 and 0.5 mM, respectively. The linear response range of the biosensor was from 2.31 × 10-3 M to 8.28 × 10-5 M. The biosensor's sensitivity was 59.67 ± 0.91 mV/decade, which is close to the theoretical value. Common cations such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and NH4+ showed no obvious interference with the urea biosensor's response. The use of a fullerene-urease bio-conjugate and an acrylic membrane with good adhesion prevented the leaching of urease enzyme and thus increased the stability of the urea biosensor for up to 140 days.

Photonic crystals: emerging biosensors and their promise for point-of-care applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Inan, Hakan; Poyraz, Muhammet; Inci, Fatih; Lifson, Mark A; Baday, Murat; Cunningham, Brian T; Demirci, Utkan

2017-01-23

Biosensors are extensively employed for diagnosing a broad array of diseases and disorders in clinical settings worldwide. The implementation of biosensors at the point-of-care (POC), such as at primary clinics or the bedside, faces impediments because they may require highly trained personnel, have long assay times, large sizes, and high instrumental cost. Thus, there exists a need to develop inexpensive, reliable, user-friendly, and compact biosensing systems at the POC. Biosensors incorporated with photonic crystal (PC) structures hold promise to address many of the aforementioned challenges facing the development of new POC diagnostics. Currently, PC-based biosensors have been employed for detecting a variety of biotargets, such as cells, pathogens, proteins, antibodies, and nucleic acids, with high efficiency and selectivity. In this review, we provide a broad overview of PCs by explaining their structures, fabrication techniques, and sensing principles. Furthermore, we discuss recent applications of PC-based biosensors incorporated with emerging technologies, including telemedicine, flexible and wearable sensing, smart materials and metamaterials. Finally, we discuss current challenges associated with existing biosensors, and provide an outlook for PC-based biosensors and their promise at the POC.

Modelling of Amperometric Biosensor Used for Synergistic Substrates Determination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dainius Simelevicius

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper the operation of an amperometric biosensor producing a chemically amplified signal is modelled numerically. The chemical amplification is achieved by using synergistic substrates. The model is based on non-stationary reaction-diffusion equations. The model involves three layers (compartments: a layer of enzyme solution entrapped on the electrode surface, a dialysis membrane covering the enzyme layer and an outer diffusion layer which is modelled by the Nernst approach. The equation system is solved numerically by using the finite difference technique. The biosensor response and sensitivity are investigated by altering the model parameters influencing the enzyme kinetics as well as the mass transport by diffusion. The biosensor action was analyzed with a special emphasis to the effect of the chemical amplification. The simulation results qualitatively explain and confirm the experimentally observed effect of the synergistic substrates conversion on the biosensor response.

Silicon-on-Insulator Nanowire Based Optical Waveguide Biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Mingyu; Liu, Yong; Chen, Yangqing; He, Jian-Jun

2016-01-01

Optical waveguide biosensors based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) nanowire have been developed for label free molecular detection. This paper reviews our work on the design, fabrication and measurement of SOI nanowire based high-sensitivity biosensors employing Vernier effect. Biosensing experiments using cascaded double-ring sensor and Mach-Zehnder- ring sensor integrated with microfluidic channels are demonstrated (paper)

High-Sensitivity Temperature-Independent Silicon Photonic Microfluidic Biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kangbaek

Optical biosensors that can precisely quantify the presence of specific molecular species in real time without the need for labeling have seen increased use in the drug discovery industry and molecular biology in general. Of the many possible optical biosensors, the TM mode Si biosensor is shown to be very attractive in the sensing application because of large field amplitude on the surface and cost effective CMOS VLSI fabrication. Noise is the most fundamental factor that limits the performance of sensors in development of high-sensitivity biosensors, and noise reduction techniques require precise studies and analysis. One such example stems from thermal fluctuations. Generally SOI biosensors are vulnerable to ambient temperature fluctuations because of large thermo-optic coefficient of silicon (˜2x10 -4 RIU/K), typically requiring another reference ring and readout sequence to compensate temperature induced noise. To address this problem, we designed sensors with a novel TM-mode shallow-ridge waveguide that provides both large surface amplitude for bulk and surface sensing. With proper design, this also provides large optical confinement in the aqueous cladding that renders the device athermal using the negative thermo-optic coefficient of water (~ --1x10-4RIU/K), demonstrating cancellation of thermo-optic effects for aqueous solution operation near 300K. Additional limitations resulting from mechanical actuator fluctuations, stability of tunable lasers, and large 1/f noise of lasers and sensor electronics can limit biosensor performance. Here we also present a simple harmonic feedback readout technique that obviates the need for spectrometers and tunable lasers. This feedback technique reduces the impact of 1/f noise to enable high-sensitivity, and a DSP lock-in with 256 kHz sampling rate can provide down to micros time scale monitoring for fast transitions in biomolecular concentration with potential for small volume and low cost. In this dissertation, a novel

Recent advances in ZnO nanostructures and thin films for biosensor applications: Review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arya, Sunil K.; Saha, Shibu; Ramirez-Vick, Jaime E.; Gupta, Vinay; Bhansali, Shekhar; Singh, Surinder P.

2012-01-01

Graphical abstract: ZnO nanostructures have shown binding of biomolecules in desired orientation with improved conformation and high biological activity, resulting in enhanced sensing characteristics. Furthermore, their compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology for constructing integrated circuits makes them suitable candidate for future small integrated biosensor devices. This review highlights various approaches to synthesize ZnO nanostructures and thin films, and their applications in biosensor technology. Highlights: ► This review highlights various approaches to synthesize ZnO nanostructures and thin films. ► Article highlights the importance of ZnO nanostructures as biosensor matrix. ► Article highlights the advances in various biosensors based on ZnO nanostructures. ► Article describes the potential of ZnO based biosensor for new generation healthcare devices. - Abstract: Biosensors have shown great potential for health care and environmental monitoring. The performance of biosensors depends on their components, among which the matrix material, i.e., the layer between the recognition layer of biomolecule and transducer, plays a crucial role in defining the stability, sensitivity and shelf-life of a biosensor. Recently, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures and thin films have attracted much interest as materials for biosensors due to their biocompatibility, chemical stability, high isoelectric point, electrochemical activity, high electron mobility, ease of synthesis by diverse methods and high surface-to-volume ratio. ZnO nanostructures have shown the binding of biomolecules in desired orientations with improved conformation and high biological activity, resulting in enhanced sensing characteristics. Furthermore, compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology for constructing integrated circuits makes ZnO nanostructures suitable candidate for future small integrated biosensor devices. This review

Recent advances in ZnO nanostructures and thin films for biosensor applications: Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arya, Sunil K., E-mail: sunilarya333@gmail.com [Bioelectronics Program, Institute of Microelectronics, A-Star 11 Science Park Road, Singapore Science Park II, Singapore 117685 (Singapore); Saha, Shibu [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India); Ramirez-Vick, Jaime E. [Engineering Science and Materials Department, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR 00681 (United States); Gupta, Vinay [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India); Bhansali, Shekhar [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL (United States); Singh, Surinder P., E-mail: singh.uprm@gmail.com [National Physical Laboratory, Dr K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110012 (India)

2012-08-06

Graphical abstract: ZnO nanostructures have shown binding of biomolecules in desired orientation with improved conformation and high biological activity, resulting in enhanced sensing characteristics. Furthermore, their compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology for constructing integrated circuits makes them suitable candidate for future small integrated biosensor devices. This review highlights various approaches to synthesize ZnO nanostructures and thin films, and their applications in biosensor technology. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This review highlights various approaches to synthesize ZnO nanostructures and thin films. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Article highlights the importance of ZnO nanostructures as biosensor matrix. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Article highlights the advances in various biosensors based on ZnO nanostructures. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Article describes the potential of ZnO based biosensor for new generation healthcare devices. - Abstract: Biosensors have shown great potential for health care and environmental monitoring. The performance of biosensors depends on their components, among which the matrix material, i.e., the layer between the recognition layer of biomolecule and transducer, plays a crucial role in defining the stability, sensitivity and shelf-life of a biosensor. Recently, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures and thin films have attracted much interest as materials for biosensors due to their biocompatibility, chemical stability, high isoelectric point, electrochemical activity, high electron mobility, ease of synthesis by diverse methods and high surface-to-volume ratio. ZnO nanostructures have shown the binding of biomolecules in desired orientations with improved conformation and high biological activity, resulting in enhanced sensing characteristics. Furthermore, compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology for constructing integrated circuits makes Zn

Functional Conducting Polymers in the Application of SPR Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rapiphun Janmanee

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, conducting polymers have emerged as one of the most promising transducers for both chemical, sensors and biosensors owing to their unique electrical, electrochemical and optical properties that can be used to convert chemical information or biointeractions into electrical or optical signals, which can easily be detected by modern techniques. Different approaches to the application of conducting polymers in chemo- or biosensing applications have been extensively studied. In order to enhance the application of conducting polymers into the area of biosensors, one approach is to introduce functional groups, including carboxylic acid, amine, sulfonate, or thiol groups, into the conducting polymer chain and to form a so-called “self-doped” or by doping with negatively charged polyelectrolytes. The functional conducting polymers have been successfully utilized to immobilize enzymes for construction of biosensors. Recently, the combination of SPR and electrochemical, known as electrochemical-surface plasmon resonance (EC-SPR, spectroscopy, has been used for in situ investigation of optical and electrical properties of conducting polymer films. Moreover, EC-SPR spectroscopy has been applied for monitoring the interaction between biomolecules and electropolymerized conjugated polymer films in biosensor and immunosensor applications. In this paper, recent development and applications on EC-SPR in biosensors will be reviewed.

Microbial Fuels Cell-Based Biosensor for Toxicity Detection: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuoyu Zhou

2017-09-01

Full Text Available With the unprecedented deterioration of environmental quality, rapid recognition of toxic compounds is paramount for performing in situ real-time monitoring. Although several analytical techniques based on electrochemistry or biosensors have been developed for the detection of toxic compounds, most of them are time-consuming, inaccurate, or cumbersome for practical applications. More recently, microbial fuel cell (MFC-based biosensors have drawn increasing interest due to their sustainability and cost-effectiveness, with applications ranging from the monitoring of anaerobic digestion process parameters (VFA to water quality detection (e.g., COD, BOD. When a MFC runs under correct conditions, the voltage generated is correlated with the amount of a given substrate. Based on this linear relationship, several studies have demonstrated that MFC-based biosensors could detect heavy metals such as copper, chromium, or zinc, as well as organic compounds, including p-nitrophenol (PNP, formaldehyde and levofloxacin. Both bacterial consortia and single strains can be used to develop MFC-based biosensors. Biosensors with single strains show several advantages over systems integrating bacterial consortia, such as selectivity and stability. One of the limitations of such sensors is that the detection range usually exceeds the actual pollution level. Therefore, improving their sensitivity is the most important for widespread application. Nonetheless, MFC-based biosensors represent a promising approach towards single pollutant detection.

BIOSENSORS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS

Science.gov (United States)

A review, with 19 references, is given on challenges and possible opportunities for the development of biosensors for environmental monitoring applications. The high cost and slow turnaround times typically associated with the measurement of regulated pollutants clearly indicates...

Linking biosensor responses to Cd, Cu and Zn partitioning in soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawson, J.J.C.; Campbell, C.D.; Towers, W.; Cameron, C.M.; Paton, G.I.

2006-01-01

Soils bind heavy metals according to fundamental physico-chemical parameters. Bioassays, using bacterial biosensors, were performed in pore waters extracted from 19 contrasting soils individually amended with Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations related to the EU Sewage Sludge Directive. The biosensors were responsive to pore waters extracted from Zn amended soils but less so to those of Cu and showed no toxicity to pore water Cd at these environmentally relevant amended concentrations. Across the range of soils, the solid-solution heavy metal partitioning coefficient (K d ) decreased (p d values. Gompertz functions of Cu and Zn, K d values against luminescence explained the relationship between heavy metals and biosensors. Consequently, biosensors provide a link between biologically defined hazard assessments of metals and standard soil-metal physico-chemical parameters for determining critical metal loadings in soils. - Biosensors link biological hazard assessments of metals in soils with physico-chemical partitioning

A reduced graphene oxide based electrochemical biosensor for tyrosine detection

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Junhua; Qiu, Jingjing; Li, Li; Ren, Liqiang; Zhang, Xianwen; Chaudhuri, Jharna; Wang, Shiren

2012-08-01

In this paper, a ‘green’ and safe hydrothermal method has been used to reduce graphene oxide and produce hemin modified graphene nanosheet (HGN) based electrochemical biosensors for the determination of l-tyrosine levels. The as-fabricated HGN biosensors were characterized by UV-visible absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The experimental results indicated that hemin was successfully immobilized on the reduced graphene oxide nanosheet (rGO) through π-π interaction. TEM images and EDX results further confirmed the attachment of hemin on the rGO nanosheet. Cyclic voltammetry tests were carried out for the bare glass carbon electrode (GCE), the rGO electrode (rGO/GCE), and the hemin-rGO electrode (HGN/GCE). The HGN/GCE based biosensor exhibits a tyrosine detection linear range from 5 × 10-7 M to 2 × 10-5 M with a detection limitation of 7.5 × 10-8 M at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The sensitivity of this biosensor is 133 times higher than that of the bare GCE. In comparison with other works, electroactive biosensors are easily fabricated, easily controlled and cost-effective. Moreover, the hemin-rGO based biosensors demonstrate higher stability, a broader detection linear range and better detection sensitivity. Study of the oxidation scheme reveals that the rGO enhances the electron transfer between the electrode and the hemin, and the existence of hemin groups effectively electrocatalyzes the oxidation of tyrosine. This study contributes to a widespread clinical application of nanomaterial based biosensor devices with a broader detection linear range, improved stability, enhanced sensitivity and reduced costs.

Interfacial Structures and Properties of Organic Materials for Biosensors: An Overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Zhou

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The capabilities of biosensors for bio-environmental monitoring have profound influences on medical, pharmaceutical, and environmental applications. This paper provides an overview on the background and applications of the state-of-the-art biosensors. Different types of biosensors are summarized and sensing mechanisms are discussed. A review of organic materials used in biosensors is given. Specifically, this review focuses on self-assembled monolayers (SAM due to their high sensitivity and high versatility. The kinetics, chemistry, and the immobilization strategies of biomolecules are discussed. Other representative organic materials, such as graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs, and conductive polymers are also introduced in this review.

Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor Based on Synergistical Innerconnect Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanowires/Wrinkled Graphene Film.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Weijie; Liu, Nishuang; Yue, Yang; Rao, Jiangyu; Cheng, Feng; Su, Jun; Liu, Zhitian; Gao, Yihua

2018-04-01

Piezoresistive sensor is a promising pressure sensor due to its attractive advantages including uncomplicated signal collection, simple manufacture, economical and practical characteristics. Here, a flexible and highly sensitive pressure sensor based on wrinkled graphene film (WGF)/innerconnected polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanowires/interdigital electrodes is fabricated. Due to the synergistic effect between WGF and innerconnected PVA nanowires, the as-prepared pressure sensor realizes a high sensitivity of 28.34 kPa -1 . In addition, the device is able to discern lightweight rice about 22.4 mg (≈2.24 Pa) and shows excellent durability and reliability after 6000 repeated loading and unloading cycles. What is more, the device can detect subtle pulse beat and monitor various human movement behaviors in real-time. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Biosensor Urea Berbasis Biopolimer Khitin Sebagai Matriks Immobilisasi

OpenAIRE

Nazruddin Nazaruddin

2007-01-01

Penelitian tentang biosensor urea menggunakan biopolimer khitin sebagai matriks immobilisasi telah dilakukan. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui kinerja biosensor yang dihasilkan yang meliputi sensitivitas, trayek pengukuran, limit deteksi, waktu respon, koefisien selektifitas, dan waktu hidup. Penelitian meliputi beberapa tahap yaitu pembuatan membran polimer khitin dan immobilisasi enzim urease, pelekatan membran khitin pada elektroda pH, dan pengukuran parameter kinerja elektroda. H...

Green Chemistry Glucose Biosensor Development using Etlingera elatior Extract

Science.gov (United States)

Fatoni, A.; Anggraeni, M. D.; Zusfahair; Iqlima, H.

2018-01-01

Glucose biosensor development is one of the important strategies for early detection of diabetes mellitus disease. This study was aimed to explore the flower extract of Etlingera elatior for a green-analysis method of glucose biosensor. Flowers were extracted using ethanol: HCl and tested its performances as an indicator of glucose biosensor using glucose oxidase enzyme. The glucose oxidase react with glucose resulted hydrogen peroxide that would change the color of the flower extract. Furthermore, the extract was also studied including their stability to pH, oxidizing and reducing, temperature, and storage. The results showed that the Etlingera elatior extract had high correlation between color change and glucose concentration with regression equation of y = -0.0005x + 0.4724 and R2 of 0.9965. The studied biosensor showed a wide linear range to detect glucose sample of 0 to 500 mM. The extract characterization showed a more stable in low pH (acid), reducing agent addition, heating treatment and storage.

RNA Detection Based on Graphene Field-Effect Transistor Biosensor

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Meng Tian

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Graphene has attracted much attention in biosensing applications due to its unique properties. In this paper, the monolayer graphene was grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD method. Using the graphene as the electric channel, we have fabricated a graphene field-effect transistor (G-FET biosensor that can be used for label-free detection of RNA. Compared with conventional method, the G-FET RNA biosensor can be run in low cost, be time-saving, and be miniaturized for RNA measurement. The sensors show high performance and achieve the RNA detection sensitivity as low as 0.1 fM, which is two orders of magnitude lower than the previously reports. Moreover, the G-FET biosensor can readily distinguish target RNA from noncomplementary RNA, showing high selectivity for RNA detection. The developed G-FET RNA biosensor with high sensitivity, fast analysis speed, and simple operation may provide a new feasible direction for RNA research and biosensing.

Paper electrodes for bioelectrochemistry: Biosensors and biofuel cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Desmet, Cloé; Marquette, Christophe A; Blum, Loïc J; Doumèche, Bastien

2016-02-15

Paper-based analytical devices (PAD) emerge in the scientific community since 2007 as low-cost, wearable and disposable devices for point-of-care diagnostic due to the widespread availability, long-time knowledge and easy manufacturing of cellulose. Rapidly, electrodes were introduced in PAD for electrochemical measurements. Together with biological components, a new generation of electrochemical biosensors was born. This review aims to take an inventory of existing electrochemical paper-based biosensors and biofuel cells and to identify, at the light of newly acquired data, suitable methodologies and crucial parameters in this field. Paper selection, electrode material, hydrophobization of cellulose, dedicated electrochemical devices and electrode configuration in biosensors and biofuel cells will be discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Detection of copper ions using microcantilever immunosensors and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Hongwei; Xue Changguo; Nan Tiegui; Tan Guiyu; Li Zhaohu; Li, Qing X.; Zhang Qingchuan; Wang Baomin

2010-01-01

A sensitive and specific monoclonal antibody (designated as mAb6A9) recognizing a Cu(II)-ethylenediamine-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EDTA) complex but not metal-free EDTA was obtained by using an 1-(4-aminobenzyl)-EDTA-Cu(II) complex covalently coupled to a carrier protein as an immunogen to immunize the Balb/c mice. A mAb6A9-modified microcantilever sensor (MCS) was developed. A bending response was found to occur at or below 1 ng mL -1 of Cu(II)-EDTA complex. An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) was developed with mAb6A9. The icELISA had a half maximum inhibition concentration and working range of approximately 1.8 and 0.2-17 ng mL -1 , respectively. The icELISA showed cross-reactivity of 18.8%, 1.1% and less than 1% with bivalent cobalt, mercury and other metals, respectively. The icELISA and functionalized MCSs were utilized to analyze the content of copper in spiked tap water samples. The assay conditions were optimized. The results of icELISA and MCS correlated well with those obtained by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry.

Nanomolar detection of methylparaben by a cost-effective hemoglobin-based biosensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hajian, A., E-mail: ali.hajian@fmf.uni-freiburg.de [Freiburg Materials Research Center, FMF, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str.21, 79104 Freiburg (Germany); Laboratory for Sensors, Department of Microsystems Engineering, IMTEK, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg (Germany); Ghodsi, J.; Afraz, A. [Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Bu-Ali Sina University, 65174, Hamedan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Yurchenko, O. [Freiburg Materials Research Center, FMF, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str.21, 79104 Freiburg (Germany); Urban, G. [Freiburg Materials Research Center, FMF, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str.21, 79104 Freiburg (Germany); Laboratory for Sensors, Department of Microsystems Engineering, IMTEK, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg (Germany)

2016-12-01

This work describes the development of a new biosensor for methylparaben determination using electrocatalytic properties of hemoglobin in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The voltammetric oxidation of methylparaben by the proposed biosensor in phosphate buffer (pH = 7.0), a physiological pH, was studied and it was confirmed that methylparaben undergoes a one electron-one proton reaction in a diffusion-controlled process. The biosensor was fabricated by carbon paste electrode modified with hemoglobin and multiwalled carbon nanotube. Based on the excellent electrochemical properties of the modified electrode, a sensitive voltammetric method was used for determination of methylparaben within a linear range from 0.1 to 13 μmol L{sup −1} and detection limit of 25 nmol L{sup −1}. The developed biosensor possessed accurate and rapid response to methylparaben and showed good sensitivity, stability, and repeatability. Finally, the applicability of the proposed biosensor was verified by methylparaben evaluation in various real samples. - Highlights: • A new methylparaben biosensor was constructed by modification of carbon paste electrode with hemoglobin and MWCNTs. • The electrochemical properties of the modified electrode and electrochemical behavior of the methylparaben on the electrode surface were studied. • The response of modified GCE was analyzed by voltammetry technique (CV and DPV). • The electrode was used to the determination of methylparaben in real samples • The performance of the fabricated biosensor was satisfactorily compared to the previously reported electrochemical sensors for methylparaben determination.

Nanomolar detection of methylparaben by a cost-effective hemoglobin-based biosensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hajian, A.; Ghodsi, J.; Afraz, A.; Yurchenko, O.; Urban, G.

2016-01-01

This work describes the development of a new biosensor for methylparaben determination using electrocatalytic properties of hemoglobin in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The voltammetric oxidation of methylparaben by the proposed biosensor in phosphate buffer (pH = 7.0), a physiological pH, was studied and it was confirmed that methylparaben undergoes a one electron-one proton reaction in a diffusion-controlled process. The biosensor was fabricated by carbon paste electrode modified with hemoglobin and multiwalled carbon nanotube. Based on the excellent electrochemical properties of the modified electrode, a sensitive voltammetric method was used for determination of methylparaben within a linear range from 0.1 to 13 μmol L −1 and detection limit of 25 nmol L −1 . The developed biosensor possessed accurate and rapid response to methylparaben and showed good sensitivity, stability, and repeatability. Finally, the applicability of the proposed biosensor was verified by methylparaben evaluation in various real samples. - Highlights: • A new methylparaben biosensor was constructed by modification of carbon paste electrode with hemoglobin and MWCNTs. • The electrochemical properties of the modified electrode and electrochemical behavior of the methylparaben on the electrode surface were studied. • The response of modified GCE was analyzed by voltammetry technique (CV and DPV). • The electrode was used to the determination of methylparaben in real samples • The performance of the fabricated biosensor was satisfactorily compared to the previously reported electrochemical sensors for methylparaben determination.

Development of mediator-type biosensor to wirelessly monitor whole cholesterol concentration in fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Takase, Mai; Murata, Masataka; Hibi, Kyoko; Huifeng, Ren; Endo, Hideaki

2014-04-01

We developed a wireless monitoring system to monitor fish condition by tracking the change in whole cholesterol concentration. The whole cholesterol concentration of fish is a source of steroid hormones or indicator of immunity level, which makes its detection important for tracking physiological condition of fish. Wireless monitoring system comprises of mediator-type biosensor and wireless transmission device. Biosensor is implantable to fish body, and transmission device is so light, in that fish is allowed to swim freely during monitoring. Cholesterol esterase and oxidase were fixated on to the detection site of biosensor and used to detect the whole cholesterol concentration. However, cholesterol oxidase incorporates oxidation-reduction reaction of oxygen for detection, which concentration fluctuates easily due to change in environmental condition. Meanwhile, mediator-type biosensor enables monitoring of whole cholesterol concentration by using mediator to substitute that oxidation-reduction reaction of oxygen. Characteristic of fabricated mediator-type biosensor was tested. The sensor output current of mediator-type biosensor remained stable compared to output current of non-mediator-type biosensor under fluctuating oxygen concentration of 0-8 ppm, which implied that this sensor is less affected by change in dissolved oxygen concentration. That biosensor was then implanted into fish for wireless monitoring. As a result, approximately 48 h of real-time monitoring was successful.

Sensitive detection of maltose and glucose based on dual enzyme-displayed bacteria electrochemical biosensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Aihua; Lang, Qiaolin; Liang, Bo; Shi, Jianguo

2017-01-15

Glucoamylase-displayed bacteria (GA-bacteria) and glucose dehydrogenase-displayed bacteria (GDH-bacteria) were co-immobilized on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to construct GA-bacteria/GDH-bacteria/MWNTs/GCE biosensor. The biosensor was developed by optimizing the loading amount and the ratio of GA-bacteria to GDH-bacteria. The as-prepared biosensor exhibited a wide dynamic range of 0.2-10mM and a low detection limit of 0.1mM maltose (S/N=3). The biosensor also had a linear response to glucose in the range of 0.1-2.0mM and a low detection limit of 0.04mM glucose (S/N=3). Interestingly, at the same concentration, glucose was 3.75-fold sensitive than that of maltose at the proposed biosensor. No interferences were observed for other possible mono- and disaccharides. The biosensor also demonstrated good long-term storage stability and repeatability. Further, using both GDH-bacteria/MWNTs/GCE biosensor and GA-bacteria/GDH-bacteria/MWNTs/GCE biosensor, glucose and maltose in real samples can be detected. Therefore, the proposed biosensor is capable of monitoring the food manufacturing and fermentation process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Construction of Microbial-based Biosensor to Measure BOD of Industrial Wastewaters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Behnam Mahdavi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In this study a cell-based biosensor for measurement of BOD was designed and developed. Activated sludge collected from wastewater treatment plant of Shahinshahr was used as biological receptor and a Clark cell was used as transducer. According to the results obtained from the sensor calibration, a linear relationship between the current changes and glucose-glutamic acid (GAA standard concentrations up to 50 mg/L was observed. The BOD values of different industrial wastewaters, inlet and outlet of treatment plant of Ardineh Company (Isfahan, and also  inlet and outlet of domestic wastewater treatment plant of Shahinshahr, and outlet of treatment plant of Pegah Company (Isfahan were measured using this biosensor. Comparison of the results of this biosensor and the results of the standard BOD test (BOD5 showed that the mean percentage error measured by the sensor was +29.6%. The results concerning the stability of the designed biosensor showed a stability time of 3 days for the response of biosensor.

Nanomolar detection of methylparaben by a cost-effective hemoglobin-based biosensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Hajian, A; Ghodsi, J; Afraz, A; Yurchenko, O; Urban, G

2016-12-01

This work describes the development of a new biosensor for methylparaben determination using electrocatalytic properties of hemoglobin in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The voltammetric oxidation of methylparaben by the proposed biosensor in phosphate buffer (pH=7.0), a physiological pH, was studied and it was confirmed that methylparaben undergoes a one electron-one proton reaction in a diffusion-controlled process. The biosensor was fabricated by carbon paste electrode modified with hemoglobin and multiwalled carbon nanotube. Based on the excellent electrochemical properties of the modified electrode, a sensitive voltammetric method was used for determination of methylparaben within a linear range from 0.1 to 13μmolL(-1) and detection limit of 25nmolL(-1). The developed biosensor possessed accurate and rapid response to methylparaben and showed good sensitivity, stability, and repeatability. Finally, the applicability of the proposed biosensor was verified by methylparaben evaluation in various real samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Potentiality of application of the conductometric L-arginine biosensors for the real sample analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaffrezic-Renault N.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Aim. To determine an influence of serum components on the L-arginine biosensor sensitivity and to formulate practical recommendations for its reliable analysis. Methods. The L-arginine biosensor comprised arginase and urease co-immobilized by cross-linking. Results. The biosensor specificity was investigated based on a series of representative studies (namely, through urea determination in the serum; inhibitory effect studies of mercury ions; high temperature treatment of sensors; studying the biosensor sensitivity to the serum treated by enzymes, and selectivity studies. It was found that the response of the biosensor to the serum injections was determined by high sensitivity of the L-arginine biosensor toward not only to L-arginine but also toward two other basic amino acids (L-lysine and L-histidine. Conclusions. A detailed procedure of optimization of the conductometric biosensor for L-arginine determination in blood serum has been proposed.

Photonic crystal-based optical biosensor: a brief investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Divya, J.; Selvendran, S.; Sivanantha Raja, A.

2018-06-01

In this paper, a two-dimensional photonic crystal biosensor for medical applications based on two waveguides and a nanocavity was explored with different shoulder-coupled nanocavity structures. The most important biosensor parameters, like the sensitivity and quality factor, can be significantly improved. By injecting an analyte into a sensing hole, the refractive index of the hole was changed. This refractive index biosensor senses the changes and shifts its operating wavelength accordingly. The transmission characteristics of light in the biosensor under different refractive indices that correspond to the change in the analyte concentration are analyzed by the finite-difference time-domain method. The band gap for each structure is designed and observed by the plane wave expansion method. These proposed structures are designed to obtain an analyte refractive index variation of about 1–1.5 in an optical wavelength range of 1.250–1.640 µm. Accordingly, an improved sensitivity of 136.6 nm RIU‑1 and a quality factor as high as 3915 is achieved. An important feature of this structure is its very small dimensions. Such a combination of attributes makes the designed structure a promising element for label-free biosensing applications.

Biomolecular logic systems: applications to biosensors and bioactuators

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Evgeny

2014-05-01

The paper presents an overview of recent advances in biosensors and bioactuators based on the biocomputing concept. Novel biosensors digitally process multiple biochemical signals through Boolean logic networks of coupled biomolecular reactions and produce output in the form of YES/NO response. Compared to traditional single-analyte sensing devices, biocomputing approach enables a high-fidelity multi-analyte biosensing, particularly beneficial for biomedical applications. Multi-signal digital biosensors thus promise advances in rapid diagnosis and treatment of diseases by processing complex patterns of physiological biomarkers. Specifically, they can provide timely detection and alert to medical emergencies, along with an immediate therapeutic intervention. Application of the biocomputing concept has been successfully demonstrated for systems performing logic analysis of biomarkers corresponding to different injuries, particularly exemplified for liver injury. Wide-ranging applications of multi-analyte digital biosensors in medicine, environmental monitoring and homeland security are anticipated. "Smart" bioactuators, for example for signal-triggered drug release, were designed by interfacing switchable electrodes and biocomputing systems. Integration of novel biosensing and bioactuating systems with the biomolecular information processing systems keeps promise for further scientific advances and numerous practical applications.

Tyrosinase-Based Biosensors for Selective Dopamine Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monica Florescu

2017-06-01

Full Text Available A novel tyrosinase-based biosensor was developed for the detection of dopamine (DA. For increased selectivity, gold electrodes were previously modified with cobalt (II-porphyrin (CoP film with electrocatalytic activity, to act both as an electrochemical mediator and an enzyme support, upon which the enzyme tyrosinase (Tyr was cross-linked. Differential pulse voltammetry was used for electrochemical detection and the reduction current of dopamine-quinone was measured as a function of dopamine concentration. Our experiments demonstrated that the presence of CoP improves the selectivity of the electrode towards dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA, with a linear trend of concentration dependence in the range of 2–30 µM. By optimizing the conditioning parameters, a separation of 130 mV between the peak potentials for ascorbic acid AA and DA was obtained, allowing the selective detection of DA. The biosensor had a sensitivity of 1.22 ± 0.02 µA·cm−2·µM−1 and a detection limit of 0.43 µM. Biosensor performances were tested in the presence of dopamine medication, with satisfactory results in terms of recovery (96%, and relative standard deviation values below 5%. These results confirmed the applicability of the biosensors in real samples such as human urine and blood serum.

47 CFR 80.1007 - Bridge-to-bridge radiotelephone installation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Bridge-to-bridge radiotelephone installation. 80.1007 Section 80.1007 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND... Bridge-to-Bridge Act § 80.1007 Bridge-to-bridge radiotelephone installation. Use of the bridge-to-bridge...

Flexible and Compressible PEDOT:PSS@Melamine Conductive Sponge Prepared via One-Step Dip Coating as Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor for Human Motion Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Yichun; Yang, Jack; Tolle, Charles R; Zhu, Zhengtao

2018-05-09

Flexible and wearable pressure sensor may offer convenient, timely, and portable solutions to human motion detection, yet it is a challenge to develop cost-effective materials for pressure sensor with high compressibility and sensitivity. Herein, a cost-efficient and scalable approach is reported to prepare a highly flexible and compressible conductive sponge for piezoresistive pressure sensor. The conductive sponge, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)@melamine sponge (MS), is prepared by one-step dip coating the commercial melamine sponge (MS) in an aqueous dispersion of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). Due to the interconnected porous structure of MS, the conductive PEDOT:PSS@MS has a high compressibility and a stable piezoresistive response at the compressive strain up to 80%, as well as good reproducibility over 1000 cycles. Thereafter, versatile pressure sensors fabricated using the conductive PEDOT:PSS@MS sponges are attached to the different parts of human body; the capabilities of these devices to detect a variety of human motions including speaking, finger bending, elbow bending, and walking are evaluated. Furthermore, prototype tactile sensory array based on these pressure sensors is demonstrated.

A piezoresistive cantilever for lateral force detection fabricated by a monolithic post-CMOS process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji Xu; Li Zhihong; Li Juan; Wang Yangyuan; Xi Jianzhong

2008-01-01

This paper presents a post-CMOS process to monolithically integrate a piezoresistive cantilever for lateral force detection and signal processing circuitry. The fabrication process includes a standard CMOS process and one more lithography step to micromachine the cantilever structure in the post-CMOS process. The piezoresistors are doped in the CMOS process but defined in the post-CMOS micromachining process without any extra process required. A partially split cantilever configuration is developed for the lateral force detection. The piezoresistors are self-aligned to the split cantilever, and therefore the width of the beam is only limited by lithography. Consequently, this kind of cantilever potentially has a high resolution. The preliminary experimental results show expected performances of the fabricated piezoresistors and electronic circuits

Preparation of Oxygen Meter Based Biosensor for Determination of Triglyceride in Serum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. BHAMBI

2006-05-01

Full Text Available A method is described for preparation of a dissolved oxygen meter (make Aqualytic, Germany based triglyceride biosensor employing a polyvinyl chloride (PVC membrane bound lipase, glycerol kinase (GK and glycerol-3-phosphate oxidase The biosensor measures dissolved O2 utilized in the oxidation of triglyceride (TG by membrane bound lipase, glycerol kinase (GK and glycerol-3-phosphate oxidase (GPO, which is directly proportional to (TG concentration. The biosensor showed optimum response within 10-15 sec at pH 7.5 and 39.5 ºC. A linear relationship was obtained between the (TG concentration from 5mM to 20mM and oxygen consumed (mg/L. The biosensor was employed for determination of triglyceride in serum. The within and between batch coefficient of variation (CV were < 2.18 % and < 1.7% respectively. The minimum detection limit of the biosensor was 0.35 mM. A study of interference revealed that ascorbic acid, cholesterol and bilirubin caused 13%, 15%, and 12% interference, respectively.The biosensor is portable and can be used outside the laboratory.

Innovative configurations of electrochemical DNA biosensors (a review)

OpenAIRE

Girousi, Stella; Karastogianni, Sofia; Serpi, Constantina

2011-01-01

In the field of electrochemical biosensing, transition metal complexes achieved a significant importance as hybridization indicators or electroactive markers of DNA. Their incorporation in electro-chemical DNA biosensors enables to offer a promising perspective in understanding of the biological activity of some chemical compounds. In this context, the development of innovative configurations of electrochemical DNA biosensors applied to life sciences during the last years were reviewed ...

Last Advances in Silicon-Based Optical Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrián Fernández Gavela

2016-02-01

Full Text Available We review the most important achievements published in the last five years in the field of silicon-based optical biosensors. We focus specially on label-free optical biosensors and their implementation into lab-on-a-chip platforms, with an emphasis on developments demonstrating the capability of the devices for real bioanalytical applications. We report on novel transducers and materials, improvements of existing transducers, new and improved biofunctionalization procedures as well as the prospects for near future commercialization of these technologies.

Last Advances in Silicon-Based Optical Biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández Gavela, Adrián; Grajales García, Daniel; Ramirez, Jhonattan C; Lechuga, Laura M

2016-02-24

We review the most important achievements published in the last five years in the field of silicon-based optical biosensors. We focus specially on label-free optical biosensors and their implementation into lab-on-a-chip platforms, with an emphasis on developments demonstrating the capability of the devices for real bioanalytical applications. We report on novel transducers and materials, improvements of existing transducers, new and improved biofunctionalization procedures as well as the prospects for near future commercialization of these technologies.

Biosensors for cardiac biomarkers detection: a review

OpenAIRE

Qureshi, Anjum; Gürbüz, Yaşar; Gurbuz, Yasar; Kolkar Mohammed, Javed Hussain Niazi

2012-01-01

The cardiovascular disease (CVD) is considered as a major threat to global health. Therefore, there is a growing demand for a range of portable, rapid and low cost biosensing devices for the detection of CVD. Biosensors can play an important role in the early diagnosis of CVD without having to rely on hospital visits where expensive and time-consuming laboratory tests are recommended. Over the last decade, many biosensors have been developed to detect a wide range of cardiac marker to reduce ...

Enzymatic biosensors based on the use of metal oxide nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Xinhao; Gu, Wei; Li, Bingyu; Chen, Ningning; Zhao, Kai; Xian, Yuezhong

2014-01-01

Over the past decades, various techniques have been developed to obtain materials at a nanoscale level to design biosensors with high sensitivity, selectivity and efficiency. Metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) are of particular interests and have received much attention because of their unique physical, chemical and catalytic properties. This review summarizes the progress made in enzymatic biosensors based on the use of MONPs. Synthetic methods, strategies for immobilization, and the functions of MONPs in enzymatic biosensing systems are reviewed and discussed. The article is subdivided into sections on enzymatic biosensors based on (a) zinc oxide nanoparticles, (b) titanium oxide nanoparticles, (c) iron oxide nanoparticles, and (d) other metal oxide nanoparticles. While substantial advances have been made in MONPs-based enzymatic biosensors, their applications to real samples still lie ahead because issues such as reproducibility and sensor stability have to be solved. (author)

Electrochemical affinity biosensors for detection of mycotoxins: A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal, Juan C; Bonel, Laura; Ezquerra, Alba; Hernández, Susana; Bertolín, Juan R; Cubel, Carlota; Castillo, Juan R

2013-11-15

This review discusses the current state of electrochemical biosensors in the determination of mycotoxins in foods. Mycotoxins are highly toxic secondary metabolites produced by molds. The acute toxicity of these results in serious human and animal health problems, although it has been only since early 1960s when the first studied aflatoxins were found to be carcinogenic. Mycotoxins affect a broad range of agricultural products, most important cereals and cereal-based foods. A majority of countries, mentioning especially the European Union, have established preventive programs to control contamination and strict laws of the permitted levels in foods. Official methods of analysis of mycotoxins normally requires sophisticated instrumentation, e.g. liquid chromatography with fluorescence or mass detectors, combined with extraction procedures for sample preparation. For about sixteen years, the use of simpler and faster analytical procedures based on affinity biosensors has emerged in scientific literature as a very promising alternative, particularly electrochemical (i.e., amperometric, impedance, potentiometric or conductimetric) affinity biosensors due to their simplicity and sensitivity. Typically, electrochemical biosensors for mycotoxins use specific antibodies or aptamers as affinity ligands, although recombinant antibodies, artificial receptors and molecular imprinted polymers show potential utility. This article deals with recent advances in electrochemical affinity biosensors for mycotoxins and covers complete literature from the first reports about sixteen years ago. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A novel nano-photonics biosensor concept for rapid molecular diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Klunder, Dion J. W.; van Herpen, Maarten M. J. W.; Kolesnychenko, Aleksey; Hornix, Eefje; Kahya, Nicoletta; de Boer, Ruth; Stapert, Henk

2008-04-01

We present a novel nano-photonics biosensor concept that offers an ultra-high surface specificity and excellent suppression of background signals due to the sample fluid on top of the biosensor. In our contribution, we will briefly discuss the operation principle and fabrication of the biosensor, followed by a more detailed discussion on the experimentally determined performance parameters. Recent results on detection of fluorescently labeled molecules in a highly fluorescent background will be shown, and we will give an outlook on real-time detection of bio-molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids.

Nanophotonic label-free biosensors for environmental monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Chocarro-Ruiz, Blanca; Fernández-Gavela, Adrián; Herranz, Sonia; Lechuga, Laura M

2017-06-01

The field of environmental monitoring has experienced a substantial progress in the last years but still the on-site control of contaminants is an elusive problem. In addition, the growing number of pollutant sources is accompanied by an increasing need of having efficient early warning systems. Several years ago biosensor devices emerged as promising environmental monitoring tools, but their level of miniaturization and their fully operation outside the laboratory prevented their use on-site. In the last period, nanophotonic biosensors based on evanescent sensing have emerged as an outstanding choice for portable point-of-care diagnosis thanks to their capability, among others, of miniaturization, multiplexing, label-free detection and integration in lab-on-chip platforms. This review covers the most relevant nanophotonic biosensors which have been proposed (including interferometric waveguides, grating-couplers, microcavity resonators, photonic crystals and localized surface plasmon resonance sensors) and their recent application for environmental surveillance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Porous photonic crystal external cavity laser biosensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Qinglan [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States); Peh, Jessie; Hergenrother, Paul J. [Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States); Cunningham, Brian T. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States); Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)

2016-08-15

We report the design, fabrication, and testing of a photonic crystal (PC) biosensor structure that incorporates a porous high refractive index TiO{sub 2} dielectric film that enables immobilization of capture proteins within an enhanced surface-area volume that spatially overlaps with the regions of resonant electromagnetic fields where biomolecular binding can produce the greatest shifts in photonic crystal resonant wavelength. Despite the nanoscale porosity of the sensor structure, the PC slab exhibits narrowband and high efficiency resonant reflection, enabling the structure to serve as a wavelength-tunable element of an external cavity laser. In the context of sensing small molecule interactions with much larger immobilized proteins, we demonstrate that the porous structure provides 3.7× larger biosensor signals than an equivalent nonporous structure, while the external cavity laser (ECL) detection method provides capability for sensing picometer-scale shifts in the PC resonant wavelength caused by small molecule binding. The porous ECL achieves a record high figure of merit for label-free optical biosensors.

A sensitive glucose biosensor based on Ag@C core–shell matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Xuan; Dai, Xingxin; Li, Jianguo; Long, Yumei; Li, Weifeng; Tu, Yifeng

2015-01-01

Nano-Ag particles were coated with colloidal carbon (Ag@C) to improve its biocompatibility and chemical stability for the preparation of biosensor. The core–shell structure was evidenced by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) spectra revealed that the carbon shell is rich of function groups such as − OH and − COOH. The as-prepared Ag@C core–shell structure can offer favorable microenvironment for immobilizing glucose oxidase and the direct electrochemistry process of glucose oxidase (GOD) at Ag@C modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was realized. The modified electrode exhibited good response to glucose. Under optimum experimental conditions the biosensor linearly responded to glucose concentration in the range of 0.05–2.5 mM, with a detection limit of 0.02 mM (S/N = 3). The apparent Michaelis–Menten constant (K M app ) of the biosensor is calculated to be 1.7 mM, suggesting high enzymatic activity and affinity toward glucose. In addition, the GOD-Ag@C/Nafion/GCE shows good reproducibility and long-term stability. These results suggested that core–shell structured Ag@C is an ideal matrix for the immobilization of the redox enzymes and further the construction of the sensitive enzyme biosensor. - Highlights: • Enhanced direct electrochemistry of GOD was achieved at Ag@C modified electrode. • A novel glucose biosensor based on Ag@C core–shell structure was developed. • The designed GOD-Ag@C/Nafion/GCE biosensor showed favorable analysis properties. • The biosensor is easy to prepare and can be applied for real sample assay

A sensitive glucose biosensor based on Ag@C core–shell matrix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Xuan; Dai, Xingxin; Li, Jianguo [College of Chemistry, Chemical engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123 (China); Long, Yumei, E-mail: yumeilong@suda.edu.cn [College of Chemistry, Chemical engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123 (China); The Key Lab of Health Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of Suzhou (China); Li, Weifeng, E-mail: liweifeng@suda.edu.cn [College of Chemistry, Chemical engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123 (China); Tu, Yifeng [College of Chemistry, Chemical engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123 (China); The Key Lab of Health Chemistry and Molecular Diagnosis of Suzhou (China)

2015-04-01

Nano-Ag particles were coated with colloidal carbon (Ag@C) to improve its biocompatibility and chemical stability for the preparation of biosensor. The core–shell structure was evidenced by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) spectra revealed that the carbon shell is rich of function groups such as − OH and − COOH. The as-prepared Ag@C core–shell structure can offer favorable microenvironment for immobilizing glucose oxidase and the direct electrochemistry process of glucose oxidase (GOD) at Ag@C modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was realized. The modified electrode exhibited good response to glucose. Under optimum experimental conditions the biosensor linearly responded to glucose concentration in the range of 0.05–2.5 mM, with a detection limit of 0.02 mM (S/N = 3). The apparent Michaelis–Menten constant (K{sub M}{sup app}) of the biosensor is calculated to be 1.7 mM, suggesting high enzymatic activity and affinity toward glucose. In addition, the GOD-Ag@C/Nafion/GCE shows good reproducibility and long-term stability. These results suggested that core–shell structured Ag@C is an ideal matrix for the immobilization of the redox enzymes and further the construction of the sensitive enzyme biosensor. - Highlights: • Enhanced direct electrochemistry of GOD was achieved at Ag@C modified electrode. • A novel glucose biosensor based on Ag@C core–shell structure was developed. • The designed GOD-Ag@C/Nafion/GCE biosensor showed favorable analysis properties. • The biosensor is easy to prepare and can be applied for real sample assay.

Detection Limits for Nanoscale Biosensors

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sheehan, Paul E; Whitman, Lloyd J

2005-01-01

We examine through analytical calculations and finite element simulations how the detection efficiency of disk and wire-like biosensors in unmixed fluids varies with size from the micrometer to nanometer scales...

GMR biosensor arrays: a system perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, D A; Gaster, R S; Lin, T; Osterfeld, S J; Han, S; Murmann, B; Wang, S X

2010-05-15

Giant magnetoresistive biosensors are becoming more prevalent for sensitive, quantifiable biomolecular detection. However, in order for magnetic biosensing to become competitive with current optical protein microarray technology, there is a need to increase the number of sensors while maintaining the high sensitivity and fast readout time characteristic of smaller arrays (1-8 sensors). In this paper, we present a circuit architecture scalable for larger sensor arrays (64 individually addressable sensors) while maintaining a high readout rate (scanning the entire array in less than 4s). The system utilizes both time domain multiplexing and frequency domain multiplexing in order to achieve this scan rate. For the implementation, we propose a new circuit architecture that does not use a classical Wheatstone bridge to measure the small change in resistance of the sensor. Instead, an architecture designed around a transimpedance amplifier is employed. A detailed analysis of this architecture including the noise, distortion, and potential sources of errors is presented, followed by a global optimization strategy for the entire system comprising the magnetic tags, sensors, and interface electronics. To demonstrate the sensitivity, quantifiable detection of two blindly spiked samples of unknown concentrations has been performed at concentrations below the limit of detection for the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Lastly, the multiplexing capability and reproducibility of the system was demonstrated by simultaneously monitoring sensors functionalized with three unique proteins at different concentrations in real-time. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improved Ion-Channel Biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Nadeau, Jay; White, Victor; Dougherty, Dennis; Maurer, Joshua

2004-01-01

An effort is underway to develop improved biosensors of a type based on ion channels in biomimetic membranes. These sensors are microfabricated from silicon and other materials compatible with silicon. As described, these sensors offer a number of advantages over prior sensors of this type.

Enzyme Biosensors for Biomedical Applications: Strategies for Safeguarding Analytical Performances in Biological Fluids

Science.gov (United States)

Rocchitta, Gaia; Spanu, Angela; Babudieri, Sergio; Latte, Gavinella; Madeddu, Giordano; Galleri, Grazia; Nuvoli, Susanna; Bagella, Paola; Demartis, Maria Ilaria; Fiore, Vito; Manetti, Roberto; Serra, Pier Andrea

2016-01-01

Enzyme-based chemical biosensors are based on biological recognition. In order to operate, the enzymes must be available to catalyze a specific biochemical reaction and be stable under the normal operating conditions of the biosensor. Design of biosensors is based on knowledge about the target analyte, as well as the complexity of the matrix in which the analyte has to be quantified. This article reviews the problems resulting from the interaction of enzyme-based amperometric biosensors with complex biological matrices containing the target analyte(s). One of the most challenging disadvantages of amperometric enzyme-based biosensor detection is signal reduction from fouling agents and interference from chemicals present in the sample matrix. This article, therefore, investigates the principles of functioning of enzymatic biosensors, their analytical performance over time and the strategies used to optimize their performance. Moreover, the composition of biological fluids as a function of their interaction with biosensing will be presented. PMID:27249001

Development of Galactose Biosensor Based on Functionalized ZnO Nanorods with Galactose Oxidase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Khun

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The fabrication of galactose biosensor based on functionalised ZnO nanorods is described. The galactose biosensor was developed by immobilizing galactose oxidase on ZnO nanorods in conjunction with glutaraldehyde as a cross-linker molecule. The IRAS study provided evidence for the interaction of galactose oxidase with the surface of ZnO nanorods. The electromotive force (EMF response of the galactose biosensor was measured by potentiometric method. We observed that the proposed biosensor has a linear detection range over a concentration range from 10 mM to 200 mM with good sensitivity of 89.10±1.23 mV/decade. In addition, the proposed biosensor has shown fast time response of less than 10 s and a good selectivity towards galactose in the presence of common interferents such as ascorbic acid, uric acid, glucose, and magnesium ions. The galactose biosensor based on galactose oxidase immobilized ZnO nanorods has a shelf life more than four weeks.

Electrochemical sensors and biosensors based on less aggregated graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Bo, Xiangjie; Zhou, Ming; Guo, Liping

2017-03-15

As a novel single-atom-thick sheet of sp 2 hybridized carbon atoms, graphene (GR) has attracted extensive attention in recent years because of its unique and remarkable properties, such as excellent electrical conductivity, large theoretical specific surface area, and strong mechanical strength. However, due to the π-π interaction, GR sheets are inclined to stack together, which may seriously degrade the performance of GR with the unique single-atom layer. In recent years, an increasing number of GR-based electrochemical sensors and biosensors are reported, which may reflect that GR has been considered as a kind of hot and promising electrode material for electrochemical sensor and biosensor construction. However, the active sites on GR surface induced by the irreversible GR aggregations would be deeply secluded inside the stacked GR sheets and therefore are not available for the electrocatalysis. So the alleviation or the minimization of the aggregation level for GR sheets would facilitate the exposure of active sites on GR and effectively upgrade the performance of GR-based electrochemical sensors and biosensors. Less aggregated GR with low aggregation and high dispersed structure can be used in improving the electrochemical activity of GR-based electrochemical sensors or biosensors. In this review, we summarize recent advances and new progress for the development of electrochemical sensors based on less aggregated GR. To achieve such goal, many strategies (such as the intercalation of carbon materials, surface modification, and structural engineering) have been applied to alleviate the aggregation level of GR in order to enhance the performance of GR-based electrochemical sensors and biosensors. Finally, the challenges associated with less aggregated GR-based electrochemical sensors and biosensors as well as related future research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recent Advances in Optical Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring and Early Warning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Zhu

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The growing number of pollutants requires the development of innovative analytical devices that are precise, sensitive, specific, rapid, and easy-to-use to meet the increasing demand for legislative actions on environmental pollution control and early warning. Optical biosensors, as a powerful alternative to conventional analytical techniques, enable the highly sensitive, real-time, and high-frequency monitoring of pollutants without extensive sample preparation. This article reviews important advances in functional biorecognition materials (e.g., enzymes, aptamers, DNAzymes, antibodies and whole cells that facilitate the increasing application of optical biosensors. This work further examines the significant improvements in optical biosensor instrumentation and their environmental applications. Innovative developments of optical biosensors for environmental pollution control and early warning are also discussed.

Nano-particle enhanced impedimetric biosensor for detection of foodborne pathogens

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, G; Om, A S; Mun, J H

2007-01-01

Recent outbreaks of foodborne illness have been increased the need for rapid and sensitive methods for detection of these pathogens. Conventional methods for pathogens detection and identification involve prolonged multiple enrichment steps. Even though some immunological rapid assays are available, these assays still need enrichment steps result in delayed detection. Biosensors have shown great potential for rapid detection of foodborne pathogens. They are capable of direct monitoring the antigen-antibody reactions in real time. Among the biosensors, impedimetric biosensors have been widely adapted as an analysis tool for the study of various biological binding reactions because of their high sensitivity and reagentless operation. In this study a nanoparticle-enhanced impedimetric biosensor for Salmonella enteritidis detection was developed which detected impedance changes caused by the attachment of the cells to the anti-Salmonella antibodies immobilized on interdigitated gold electrodes. Successive immobilization of neutravidin followed by anti-Salmonella antibodies was performed to the sensing area to create a biological detection surface. To enhance the impedance responses generated by antigen-antibody reactions, anti-Salmonella antibody conjugated nanoparticles were introduced on the sensing area. Using a portable impedance analyzer, the impedance across the interdigital electrodes was measured after the series of antigen-antibody bindings. Bacteria cells present in solution attached to capture antibodies and became tethered to the sensor surface. Attached bacteria cells changed the dielectric constant of the media between the electrodes thereby causing a change in measured impedance. Optimum input frequency was determined by analyzing frequency characteristics of the biosensor over ranges of applied frequencies from 10 Hz to 400 Hz. At 100 Hz of input frequency, the biosensor was most sensitive to the changes of the bacteria concentration and this frequency

Role of biomolecular logic systems in biosensors and bioactuators

Science.gov (United States)

Mailloux, Shay; Katz, Evgeny

2014-09-01

An overview of recent advances in biosensors and bioactuators based on biocomputing systems is presented. Biosensors digitally process multiple biochemical signals through Boolean logic networks of coupled biomolecular reactions and produce an output in the form of a YES/NO response. Compared to traditional single-analyte sensing devices, the biocomputing approach enables high-fidelity multianalyte biosensing, which is particularly beneficial for biomedical applications. Multisignal digital biosensors thus promise advances in rapid diagnosis and treatment of diseases by processing complex patterns of physiological biomarkers. Specifically, they can provide timely detection and alert medical personnel of medical emergencies together with immediate therapeutic intervention. Application of the biocomputing concept has been successfully demonstrated for systems performing logic analysis of biomarkers corresponding to different injuries, particularly as exemplified for liver injury. Wide-ranging applications of multianalyte digital biosensors in medicine, environmental monitoring, and homeland security are anticipated. "Smart" bioactuators, for signal-triggered drug release, for example, were designed by interfacing switchable electrodes with biocomputing systems. Integration of biosensing and bioactuating systems with biomolecular information processing systems advances the potential for further scientific innovations and various practical applications.

Design of nanostructured-based glucose biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Komirisetty, Archana; Williams, Frances; Pradhan, Aswini; Konda, Rajini B.; Dondapati, Hareesh; Samantaray, Diptirani

2012-04-01

This paper presents the design of glucose sensors that will be integrated with advanced nano-materials, bio-coatings and electronics to create novel devices that are highly sensitive, inexpensive, accurate, and reliable. In the work presented, a glucose biosensor and its fabrication process flow have been designed. The device is based on electrochemical sensing using a working electrode with bio-functionalized zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-rods. Among all metal oxide nanostructures, ZnO nano-materials play a significant role as a sensing element in biosensors due to their properties such as high isoelectric point (IEP), fast electron transfer, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, and chemical stability which are very crucial parameters to achieve high sensitivity. Amperometric enzyme electrodes based on glucose oxidase (GOx) are used due to their stability and high selectivity to glucose. The device also consists of silicon dioxide and titanium layers as well as platinum working and counter electrodes and a silver/silver chloride reference electrode. Currently, the biosensors are being fabricated using the process flow developed. Once completed, the sensors will be bio-functionalized and tested to characterize their performance, including their sensitivity and stability.

Label-Free Electrical Detection Using Carbon Nanotube-Based Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenzo Maehashi

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Label-free detections of biomolecules have attracted great attention in a lot of life science fields such as genomics, clinical diagnosis and practical pharmacy. In this article, we reviewed amperometric and potentiometric biosensors based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs. In amperometric detections, CNT-modified electrodes were used as working electrodes to significantly enhance electroactive surface area. In contrast, the potentiometric biosensors were based on aptamer-modified CNT field-effect transistors (CNTFETs. Since aptamers are artificial oligonucleotides and thus are smaller than the Debye length, proteins can be detected with high sensitivity. In this review, we discussed on the technology, characteristics and developments for commercialization in label-free CNT-based biosensors.

Recent Progress in Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Justino, Celine I L; Duarte, Armando C; Rocha-Santos, Teresa A P

2017-12-15

The environmental monitoring has been one of the priorities at the European and global scale due to the close relationship between the environmental pollution and the human health/socioeconomic development. In this field, the biosensors have been widely employed as cost-effective, fast, in situ, and real-time analytical techniques. The need of portable, rapid, and smart biosensing devices explains the recent development of biosensors with new transduction materials, obtained from nanotechnology, and for multiplexed pollutant detection, involving multidisciplinary experts. This review article provides an update on recent progress in biosensors for the monitoring of air, water, and soil pollutants in real conditions such as pesticides, potentially toxic elements, and small organic molecules including toxins and endocrine disrupting chemicals.

A polyamidoamine dendrimer-streptavidin supramolecular architecture for biosensor development.

Science.gov (United States)

Soda, N; Arotiba, O A

2017-12-01

A novel polyamidoamine dendrimer-streptavidin supramolecular architecture suitable as a versatile platform for biosensor development is reported. The dendrimer was electrodeposited on a glassy carbon electrode via cyclic voltammetry. The dendrimer electrode was further modified with streptavidin by electrostatic attraction upon drop coating. The platform i.e. the dendrimer-streptavidin modified electrode was electrochemically interrogated in phosphate buffer, ferrocyanide and H 2 O 2 . The dendrimer-streptavidin platform was used in the preparation of a simple DNA biosensor as a proof of concept. The supramolecular architecture of dendrimer-streptavidin was stable, electroactive and thus lends itself as a versatile immobilisation layer for any biotinylated bioreceptors in biosensor development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Glucose Sensing Using Capacitive Biosensor Based on Polyvinylidene Fluoride Thin Film

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ambran Hartono

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF film-based capacitive biosensor was developed for glucose sensing. This device consists of a PVDF film sandwiched between two electrodes. A capacitive biosensor measures the dielectric properties of the dielectric layers at the interface between the electrolyte and the electrode. A glucose oxidase (GOx enzyme was immobilized onto the electrode to oxidize glucose. In practice, the biochemical reaction of glucose with the GOx enzyme generates free electron carriers. Consequently, the potential difference between the electrodes is increased, resulting in a measurable voltage output of the biosensor. The device was tested for various glucose concentrations in the range of 0.013 to 5.85 M, and various GOx enzyme concentrations between 4882.8 and 2.5 million units/L. We found that the sensor output increased with increasing glucose concentration up to 5.85 M. These results indicate that the PVDF film-based capacitive biosensors can be properly applied to glucose sensing and provide opportunities for the low-cost fabrication of glucose-based biosensors based on PVDF materials.

Graphene-metallic nanocomposites as modifiers in electrochemical glucose biosensor transducers

Science.gov (United States)

Altuntas, Derya Bal; Tepeli, Yudum; Anik, Ulku

2016-09-01

Graphene sheets and three different graphene-metallic nanocomposites including graphene-copper (graphene-Cu), graphene-nickel (graphene-Ni) and graphene-platinum (graphene-Pt) were prepared and characterized in the first place. Then the electrochemical performances of these nanocomposites were tested in glucose biosensor transducers, which were formed by combining these metallic nanocomposites with glucose oxidase enzyme and glassy carbon paste electrode (GCPE). This is the first work that includes the usage of these graphene-Me nanocomposites as a part of glucose biosensor transducer. Fabricated amperometric biosensors linear ranges were obtained as follow: For the plain graphene, the linear range was found in the concentration range between 50 μM and 800 μM with the RSD (n = 3 for 50 μM glucose) value of 12.86% and LOD value of 7.2 μM. For graphene-Pt modified glucose biosensor, the linear range was between 10 μM and 600 μM with the RSD (n = 3 for 50 μM glucose) value of 3.45% and LOD value of 3.06 μM. In the case of graphene-Ni modified glucose biosensor, the values were 25 μM to 600 μM with the RSD (n = 3 for 50 μM glucose) value of 8.76% and LOD value of 24.71 μM and for graphene-Cu modified glucose biosensor linear range was 25 μM to 400 μM with the RSD (n = 3 for 50 μM glucose) value of 3.93% and LOD value of 2.87 μM.

Electromagnetic and nuclear radiation detector using micromechanical sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Thundat, Thomas G.; Warmack, Robert J.; Wachter, Eric A.

2000-01-01

Electromagnetic and nuclear radiation is detected by micromechanical sensors that can be coated with various interactive materials. As the micromechanical sensors absorb radiation, the sensors bend and/or undergo a shift in resonance characteristics. The bending and resonance changes are detected with high sensitivity by any of several detection methods including optical, capacitive, and piezoresistive methods. Wide bands of the electromagnetic spectrum can be imaged with picoJoule sensitivity, and specific absorptive coatings can be used for selective sensitivity in specific wavelength bands. Microcantilevers coated with optical cross-linking polymers are useful as integrating optical radiation dosimeters. Nuclear radiation dosimetry is possible by fabricating cantilevers from materials that are sensitive to various nuclear particles or radiation. Upon exposure to radiation, the cantilever bends due to stress and its resonance frequency shifts due to changes in elastic properties, based on cantilever shape and properties of the coating.

Monolithic integration of micromachined sensors and CMOS circuits based on SOI technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Xiaomei; Tang Yaquan; Zhang Haitao

2008-01-01

This note presents a novel way to monolithically integrate micro-cantilever sensors and signal conditioning circuits by combining SOI CMOS and SOI micromachining technologies. In order to improve the sensor performance and reduce the system volume, an integrated sensor system composed of a piezoresistive cantilever array, a temperature-compensation current reference, a digitally controlled multiplexer and an instrument amplifier is designed and finally fabricated. A post-SOI CMOS process is developed to realize the integrated sensor system which is based on a standard CMOS process with one more mask to define the cantilever structure at the end of the process. Measurements on the finished SOI CMOS devices and circuits show that the integration process has good compatibility both for the cantilever sensors and for the CMOS circuits, and the SOI CMOS integration process can decrease about 25% sequences compared with the bulk silicon CMOS process. (note)

Advanced Monitoring Systems Initiative Project Achievements for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hohman, E.H.; Lohrstorfer, C.L.; Venedam, R.J.; Weeks, S.J.; Fannin, C.R.

2006-01-01

The Advanced Monitoring Systems Initiative (AMSI) project has been in existence since 2002. In this short time period, AMSI has successfully developed, tested and/or demonstrated over 30 advanced sensors and monitoring systems for applications in environmental restoration, waste management and other areas of national interest. This presentation summarizes the AMSI project, and gives examples of recent successes. The purpose of the presentation is to make Symposium attendees aware of AMSI's capabilities and experience, for possible use in the future. Example successes include the following: - Automated hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) monitoring in wells alongside the Columbia River; - Atmospheric chemical sensor array for remote, real-time plume tracking; - Wireless sensor platform for long-term monitoring of subsurface moisture; - Embedded piezo-resistive micro-cantilever (EPM) units for carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) detection; - 'iHistorian' for efficient, real-time data management of chemical releases. (authors)

Plasmonic Nanostructures for Biosensor Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gadde, Akshitha

Improving the sensitivity of existing biosensors is an active research topic that cuts across several disciplines, including engineering and biology. Optical biosensors are the one of the most diverse class of biosensors which can be broadly categorized into two types based on the detection scheme: label-based and label-free detection. In label-based detection, the target bio-molecules are labeled with dyes or tags that fluoresce upon excitation, indicating the presence of target molecules. Label-based detection is highly-sensitive, capable of single molecule detection depending on the detector type used. One method of improving the sensitivity of label-based fluorescence detection is by enhancement of the emission of the labels by coupling them with metal nanostructures. This approach is referred as plasmon-enhanced fluorescence (PEF). PEF is achieved by increasing the electric field around the nano metal structures through plasmonics. This increased electric field improves the enhancement from the fluorophores which in turn improves the photon emission from the fluorophores which, in turn, improves the limit of detection. Biosensors taking advantage of the plasmonic properties of metal films and nanostructures have emerged an alternative, low-cost, high sensitivity method for detecting labeled DNA. Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensors employing noble metal nanostructures have recently attracted considerable attention as a new class of plasmonic nanosensors. In this work, the design, fabrication and characterization of plasmonic nanostructures is carried out. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations were performed using software from Lumerical Inc. to design a novel LSPR structure that exhibit resonance overlapping with the absorption and emission wavelengths of quantum dots (QD). Simulations of a composite Au/SiO2 nanopillars on silicon substrate were performed using FDTD software to show peak plasmonic enhancement at QD emission wavelength

Magneto-elastic biosensors: Influence of different thiols on pathogen capture efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalla Pozza, Márcia; Possan, André L.; Roesch-Ely, Mariana; Missell, Frank P.

2017-01-01

Magneto-elastic biosensors have mass sensitivity to biological species, offering reliability and reproducibility in the detection of pathogens such as Escherichia coli. In this work, amorphous ribbons of Metglas 2826MB3 were coated with layers of Cr and Au by DC magnetron sputtering and cut to 5 mm × 1 mm. The influence of different thiols on captured pathogens was studied. The compounds cystamine (CYS), cysteamine (CYSTE) and mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) were deposited on Au-covered surfaces, followed by antibodies. The roughness parameters Ra and Rq were determined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micrographs from scanning electron microscopy with a field emission gun (FESEM) were also utilized. Biosensors formed with MPA showed an increased efficiency for attracting E. coli compared to biosensors with CYS and CYSTE, but large standard deviations were observed, making reproducibility and reliability difficult for that biosensor. Sensors tested with CYSTE showed greater efficiency and a lower detection limit than sensors with CYS. The results indicated that the size of the carbon chain and the terminal grouping influence the effectiveness of immobilization on magneto-elastic biosensors. - Highlights: • Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy with field emission gun (FESEM) were utilized. • Biosensor with cysteamine (CYSTE) gave lower detection limit for E.coli than mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) or cystamine (CYS)

Magneto-elastic biosensors: Influence of different thiols on pathogen capture efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalla Pozza, Márcia; Possan, André L. [Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, RS (Brazil); Roesch-Ely, Mariana [Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, RS (Brazil); Missell, Frank P., E-mail: fpmissel@ucs.br [Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, RS (Brazil)

2017-06-01

Magneto-elastic biosensors have mass sensitivity to biological species, offering reliability and reproducibility in the detection of pathogens such as Escherichia coli. In this work, amorphous ribbons of Metglas 2826MB3 were coated with layers of Cr and Au by DC magnetron sputtering and cut to 5 mm × 1 mm. The influence of different thiols on captured pathogens was studied. The compounds cystamine (CYS), cysteamine (CYSTE) and mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) were deposited on Au-covered surfaces, followed by antibodies. The roughness parameters Ra and Rq were determined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micrographs from scanning electron microscopy with a field emission gun (FESEM) were also utilized. Biosensors formed with MPA showed an increased efficiency for attracting E. coli compared to biosensors with CYS and CYSTE, but large standard deviations were observed, making reproducibility and reliability difficult for that biosensor. Sensors tested with CYSTE showed greater efficiency and a lower detection limit than sensors with CYS. The results indicated that the size of the carbon chain and the terminal grouping influence the effectiveness of immobilization on magneto-elastic biosensors. - Highlights: • Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy with field emission gun (FESEM) were utilized. • Biosensor with cysteamine (CYSTE) gave lower detection limit for E.coli than mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) or cystamine (CYS)

New CNT/poly(brilliant green) and CNT/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) based electrochemical enzyme biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Barsan, Madalina M; Pifferi, Valentina; Falciola, Luigi; Brett, Christopher M A

2016-07-13

A combination of the electroactive polymer poly(brilliant green) (PBG) or conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) with carbon nanotubes to obtain CNT/PBG and CNT/PEDOT modified carbon film electrodes (CFE) has been investigated as a new biosensor platform, incorporating the enzymes glucose oxidase (GOx) as test enzyme, alcohol oxidase (AlcOx) or alcohol dehydrogenase (AlcDH). The sensing parameters were optimized for all biosensors based on CNT/PBG/CFE, CNT/PEDOT/CFE platforms. Under optimized conditions, both GOx biosensors exhibited very similar sensitivities, while in the case of AlcOx and AlcDH biosensors, AlcOx/CNT/PBG/CFE was found to give a higher sensitivity and lower detection limit. The influence of dissolved O2 on oxidase-biosensor performance was investigated and was shown to be different for each enzyme. Comparisons were made with similar reported biosensors, showing the advantages of the new biosensors, and excellent selectivity against potential interferents was successfully demonstrated. Finally, alcohol biosensors were successfully used for the determination of ethanol in alcoholic beverages. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biosensor for point-of-care diagnostic and on-site measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2013-01-01

Disclosed herein is a biosensor for detection of a target substance in a sample with impedance spectroscopy, the biosensor comprising 1) a first non-conducting substrate comprising a primary substrate surface; 2) a conducting polymer electrode layer comprising one or more conducting polymers layers...

F F1-ATPase as biosensor to detect single virus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, XiaoLong; Zhang, Yun; Yue, JiaChang; Jiang, PeiDong; Zhang, ZhenXi

2006-01-01

F F 1 -ATPase within chromatophore was constructed as a biosensor (immuno-rotary biosensor) for the purpose of capturing single virus. Capture of virus was based on antibody-antigen reaction. The detection of virus based on proton flux change driven by ATP-synthesis of F F 1 -ATPase, which was indicated by F1300, was directly observed by a fluorescence microscope. The results demonstrate that the biosensor loading of virus particles has remarkable signal-to-noise ratio (3.8:1) compared to its control at single molecular level, and will be convenient, quick, and even super-sensitive for detecting virus particles

Wireless implantable electronic platform for chronic fluorescent-based biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Valdastri, Pietro; Susilo, Ekawahyu; Förster, Thilo; Strohhöfer, Christof; Menciassi, Arianna; Dario, Paolo

2011-06-01

The development of a long-term wireless implantable biosensor based on fluorescence intensity measurement poses a number of technical challenges, ranging from biocompatibility to sensor stability over time. One of these challenges is the design of a power efficient and miniaturized electronics, enabling the biosensor to move from bench testing to long term validation, up to its final application in human beings. In this spirit, we present a wireless programmable electronic platform for implantable chronic monitoring of fluorescent-based autonomous biosensors. This system is able to achieve extremely low power operation with bidirectional telemetry, based on the IEEE802.15.4-2003 protocol, thus enabling over three-year battery lifetime and wireless networking of multiple sensors. During the performance of single fluorescent-based sensor measurements, the circuit drives a laser diode, for sensor excitation, and acquires the amplified signals from four different photodetectors. In vitro functionality was preliminarily tested for both glucose and calcium monitoring, simply by changing the analyte-binding protein of the biosensor. Electronics performance was assessed in terms of timing, power consumption, tissue exposure to electromagnetic fields, and in vivo wireless connectivity. The final goal of the presented platform is to be integrated in a complete system for blood glucose level monitoring that may be implanted for at least one year under the skin of diabetic patients. Results reported in this paper may be applied to a wide variety of biosensors based on fluorescence intensity measurement.

Graphene-polymer-enzyme hybrid nanomaterials for biosensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2016-01-01

The invention relates to a general chemical method for the synthesis of biocompatible hybrid nanomaterials which can be used in the development of new- type enzyme based biosensors. A one-step facile method is presented, in which polyethylenimine (PEI) serves as both a reducing agent for the redu......The invention relates to a general chemical method for the synthesis of biocompatible hybrid nanomaterials which can be used in the development of new- type enzyme based biosensors. A one-step facile method is presented, in which polyethylenimine (PEI) serves as both a reducing agent...

Fluorescence-based biosensors from concepts to applications

CERN Document Server

Morris, May C

2013-01-01

One of the major challenges of modern biology and medicine consists in finding means to visualize biomolecules in their natural environment with the greatest level of accuracy, so as to gain insight into their properties and behaviour in a physiological and pathological setting. This has been achieved thanks to the design of novel imaging agents, in particular to fluorescent biosensors. Fluorescence Biosensors comprise a large set of tools which are useful for fundamental purposes as well as for applications in biomedicine, drug discovery and biotechnology. These tools have been designed a

SPR imaging biosensor for the quantitation of fibronectin concentration in blood samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Sankiewicz, Anna; Romanowicz, Lech; Pyc, Marlena; Hermanowicz, Adam; Gorodkiewicz, Ewa

2018-02-20

The purpose of this study was presentation of a new biosensor capable of determination of fibronectin. This biosensor was based on the specific interaction of anti-fibronectin antibody produced in rabbit with fibronectin. The surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI) technique was used as a detecting method. Optimization and characterization properties of the biosensor were studied. The determination of fibronectin concentration in natural samples was done. The results were compared with a reference method (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay-ELISA). The analytically useful dynamic response range of biosensor is between 5 and 400ngmL -1 . The detection limit is 1.5ngmL -1 and limit quantification is 5ngmL -1 . The proposed SPRI biosensor showed good selectivity for potential interferences. It was applied to determine fibronectin concentrations in plasma of healthy donors and of patients after thermal injury. Good correlations between results obtained using the SPRI biosensor and ELISA test (correlation coefficients for healthy donors 0.996, for patients 0.984) were obtained. The average fibronectin concentration of healthy donors was 140.5±24.6μgmL -1 and the average fibronectin concentration of patients was 601.5±72.1μgmL -1 , which was in agreement with results obtained by other investigators. The obtained results indicate that the developed biosensor may be a candidate for monitoring fibronectin concentration in blood samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gold nanostar-enhanced surface plasmon resonance biosensor based on carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Qiong; Sun, Ying; Ma, Pinyi; Zhang, Di; Li, Shuo; Wang, Xinghua; Song, Daqian

2016-01-01

A new high-sensitivity surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor based on biofunctional gold nanostars (AuNSs) and carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide (cGO) sheets was described. Compared with spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), the anisotropic structure of AuNSs, which concentrates the electric charge density on its sharp tips, could enhance the local electromagnetic field and the electronic coupling effect significantly. cGO was obtained by a diazonium reaction of graphene oxide (GO) with 4-aminobenzoic acid. Compared with GO, cGO could immobilize more antibodies due to the abundant carboxylic groups on its surface. Testing results show that there are fairly large improvements in the analytical performance of the SPR biosensor using cGO/AuNSs-antigen conjugate, and the detection limit of the proposed biosensor is 0.0375 μg mL"−"1, which is 32 times lower than that of graphene oxide-based biosensor. - Highlights: • A sensitive and versatile SPR biosensor was constructed for detection of pig IgG. • Biofunctional gold nanostars were used to amplify the response signals. • The strategy employed carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide as biosensing substrate. • The detection limit of the proposed biosensor is 32 times lower than that of graphene oxide-based biosensor.

Functional characterization of Gram-negative bacteria from different genera as multiplex cadmium biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bereza-Malcolm, Lara; Aracic, Sanja; Kannan, Ruban; Mann, Gülay; Franks, Ashley E

2017-08-15

Widespread presence of cadmium in soil and water systems is a consequence of industrial and agricultural processes. Subsequent accumulation of cadmium in food and drinking water can result in accidental consumption of dangerous concentrations. As such, cadmium environmental contamination poses a significant threat to human health. Development of microbial biosensors, as a novel alternative method for in situ cadmium detection, may reduce human exposure by complementing traditional analytical methods. In this study, a multiplex cadmium biosensing construct was assembled by cloning a single-output cadmium biosensor element, cadRgfp, and a constitutively expressed mrfp1 onto a broad-host range vector. Incorporation of the duplex fluorescent output [green and red fluorescence proteins] allowed measurement of biosensor functionality and viability. The biosensor construct was tested in several Gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas, Shewanella and Enterobacter. The multiplex cadmium biosensors were responsive to cadmium concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 10µgml -1 , as well as several other heavy metals, including arsenic, mercury and lead at similar concentrations. The biosensors were also responsive within 20-40min following exposure to 3µgml -1 cadmium. This study highlights the importance of testing biosensor constructs, developed using synthetic biology principles, in different bacterial genera. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An acetylcholinesterase biosensor based on graphene-gold nanocomposite and calcined layered double hydroxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Chen; Guo, Yemin; Sun, Xia; Zheng, Yuhe; Wang, Xiangyou

2014-05-10

In this study, a novel acetylcholinesterase-based biosensor was fabricated. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was immobilized onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with the aid of Cu-Mg-Al calcined layered double hydroxide (CLDH). CLDH can provide a bigger effective surface area for AChE loading, which could improve the precision and stability of AChE biosensor. However, the poor electroconductibility of CLDHs could lead to the low sensitivity of AChE biosensor. In order to effectively compensate the disadvantages of CLDHs, graphene-gold nanocomposites were used for improving the electron transfer rate. Thus, the graphene-gold nanocomposite (GN-AuNPs) was firstly modified onto the GCE, and then the prepared CLDH-AChE composite was immobilized onto the modified GCE to construct a sensitive AChE biosensor for pesticides detection. Relevant parameters were studied in detail and optimized, including the pH of the acetylthiocholine chloride (ATCl) solution, the amount of AChE immobilized on the biosensor and the inhibition time governing the analytical performance of the biosensor. The biosensor detected chlorpyrifos at concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 150μg/L. The detection limit for chlorpyrifos was 0.05μg/L. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gold nanostar-enhanced surface plasmon resonance biosensor based on carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Qiong; Sun, Ying; Ma, Pinyi; Zhang, Di; Li, Shuo; Wang, Xinghua; Song, Daqian, E-mail: songdq@jlu.edu.cn

2016-03-24

A new high-sensitivity surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor based on biofunctional gold nanostars (AuNSs) and carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide (cGO) sheets was described. Compared with spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), the anisotropic structure of AuNSs, which concentrates the electric charge density on its sharp tips, could enhance the local electromagnetic field and the electronic coupling effect significantly. cGO was obtained by a diazonium reaction of graphene oxide (GO) with 4-aminobenzoic acid. Compared with GO, cGO could immobilize more antibodies due to the abundant carboxylic groups on its surface. Testing results show that there are fairly large improvements in the analytical performance of the SPR biosensor using cGO/AuNSs-antigen conjugate, and the detection limit of the proposed biosensor is 0.0375 μg mL{sup −1}, which is 32 times lower than that of graphene oxide-based biosensor. - Highlights: • A sensitive and versatile SPR biosensor was constructed for detection of pig IgG. • Biofunctional gold nanostars were used to amplify the response signals. • The strategy employed carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide as biosensing substrate. • The detection limit of the proposed biosensor is 32 times lower than that of graphene oxide-based biosensor.

Oligonucleotide-based biosensors for in vitro diagnostics and environmental hazard detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Il Young; Lee, Eun Hee; Suh, Ah Young; Lee, Seung Jin; Lee, Hyukjin

2016-04-01

Oligonucleotide-based biosensors have drawn much attention because of their broad applications in in vitro diagnostics and environmental hazard detection. They are particularly of interest to many researchers because of their high specificity as well as excellent sensitivity. Recently, oligonucleotide-based biosensors have been used to achieve not only genetic detection of targets but also the detection of small molecules, peptides, and proteins. This has further broadened the applications of these sensors in the medical and health care industry. In this review, we highlight various examples of oligonucleotide-based biosensors for the detection of diseases, drugs, and environmentally hazardous chemicals. Each example is provided with detailed schematics of the detection mechanism in addition to the supporting experimental results. Furthermore, future perspectives and new challenges in oligonucleotide-based biosensors are discussed.

Graphene oxide-based optical biosensor functionalized with peptides for explosive detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qian; Zhang, Diming; Lu, Yanli; Yao, Yao; Li, Shuang; Liu, Qingjun

2015-06-15

A label-free optical biosensor was constructed with biofunctionalized graphene oxide (GO) for specific detection of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). By chemically binding TNT-specific peptides with GO, the biosensor gained unique optoelectronic properties and high biological sensitivity, with transducing bimolecular bonding into optical signals. Through UV absorption detection, increasing absorbance responses could be observed in presence of TNT at different concentrations, as low as 4.40×10(-9) mM, and showed dose-dependence and stable behavior. Specific responses of the biosensor were verified with the corporation of 2,6-dinitrotoluene (DNT), which had similar molecular structure to TNT. Thus, with high sensitivity and selectivity, the biosensor provided a convenient approach for detection of explosives as miniaturizing and integrating devices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.