Nanomechanics – The Link to Biology and Chemistry

Biological and chemical processes can be transduced into nanomechanical motion via change of surface stress on a cantilever. By coating the surface of each cantilever of a micro-fabricated array of silicon cantilevers with a different polymer, a versatile vapor sensor is obtained that is able to dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChimia Vol. 56; no. 10
Main Authors Hans Peter Lang, Martin Hegner, Christoph Gerber
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Swiss Chemical Society 01.01.2002
Subjects
Biosensor
Cantilever array
Dna hybridization
Molecular recognition
Thermodynamic surface-solution equilibrium constant
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ISSN0009-4293
2673-2424
DOI10.2533/000942902777680216

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Summary:Biological and chemical processes can be transduced into nanomechanical motion via change of surface stress on a cantilever. By coating the surface of each cantilever of a micro-fabricated array of silicon cantilevers with a different polymer, a versatile vapor sensor is obtained that is able to discriminate between various solvent vapors using principal-component analysis techniques. In liquids such sensors allow rapid quantitative and qualitative detection of non-labeled biomolecules. Differential measurements of cantilever deflection (with respect to an unspecific reference cantilever) allow the detection of sequence-specific DNA hybridization. Single-stranded thiolated DNA 12-mer sequences, anchored onto the surface of the gold-coated cantilevers of the array, provide a biosensor for the detection of their complementary strands in buffer solution. The influence of the target-molecule concentration on the cantilever deflection is studied, and a value for the thermodynamic surface-solution equilibrium constant is derived from measurements on a cantilever.
ISSN:0009-4293
2673-2424
DOI:10.2533/000942902777680216