AN ACOUSTIC PLATE MODE DNA BIOSENSOR

THIS PROJECT IS DEVELOPING A NEW SOLID-STATE BIOSENSOR TECHNOLOGY FOR BIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS. THIS TECHNOLOGY IS BASED ON THE MERGING OF TWO RELATIVELY DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES: NUCLEIC ACID PROBES (DNA HYBRIDIZATION TECHNOLOGY) WITH ACOUSTIC PLATE MODE (APM) MICROSENSORS. RECENT ADVANCES IN THE DESIGN AND OPERATION OF APM DEVICES HAVE DEMONSTRATED A DNA HYBRIDIZATION SENSOR PRINCIPLE WITH EXCELLENT SENSITIVITY (NANOGRAMS/MILLILITER), SELECTIVITY, AND TEMPERATURE STABILITY WHEN USED WITH A MODEL PROBE SYSTEM. THIS PROJECT IS THE FIRST ATTEMPT AT THE DIRECT ELECTRONIC IN-SITU SENSING OF A DIAGNOSTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DNA GENE SEQUENCE, ONE THAT CODES FOR THE ABUNDANT LATE MATRIX ANTIGEN OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS. THIS NEW DNA BIOSENSOR OPERATES IN A CONTINUOUS AND THEREFORE HOMOGENEOUS MODE AND YET IS EXPECTED TO EQUAL OR EXCEED THE SENSITIVITY LIMITS OF EXISTING DOT-BLOT TECHNOLOGIES. THUS, THE BIOSENSOR IS EXPECTED TO RESPOND, IN SITU, OVER TIME TO THE TARGET DNA. IN CONTRAST, THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGY YIELDS A DISCRETE ENDPOINT RESULT. THE BIOSENSOR RESPONSE WILL BE AN ELECTRONIC SIGNAL, ALLOWING NUMEROUS DATA-HANDLING OPTIONS. THE PHASE I PROJECT CONSISTS OF SEVERAL COMPONENTS: (1) AN OPTIMIZED DUAL DELAY LINE APM SENSING ELEMENT IS BEING CONSTRUCTED; (2) A DUAL OSCILLATOR MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR THE OPTIMIZED APM IS BEING DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED; (3) THE CHEMISTRY EMPLOYED TO COVALENTLY ATTACH THE NUCLEIC ACID PROBE (NAP) IS BEING OPTIMIZED; (4) THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SENSOR IN DETECTING IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION OF TARGET DNA IS BEING EVALUATED; AND (5) THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SENSOR IS TO BE COMPLETED.