Novel Microcantilever Biosensor for the Measurement of Biomolecular Forces

The ability to detect minute quantities of toxic biological substance s will provide the ability to quickly assess a situation so that an a ppropriate response to exposure can be orchestrated. Not only will t he development of this technology be important in toxic agent warfare detection, the biological sensors would be pertinent in commercial ap plications such as process control and point-of-care diagnostics. Be cause rapid diagnosis of medical situations can result in better pat ient care, there is a great desire to have portable test facilities, bases on affinity sensing technology, that can produce analysis insta ntaneously. The main advantage of affinity sensors is that separatio n procedures are not reqired thereby providing results with specific binding of select target molecules. Devices can be small, rugged, and can demonstrate sensitivity levels equal to or greater than tradi tional instrumentation. Interest in these devices has grown steadily with the recent advent of inexpensive, mass-produced MEMS devices. M ore specifically, microcantilevers can now be produced to detect the presence of biological samples through changes in resonance frequenc y, deflection, amplitude, and Q-factor. F&S proposes to commercializ e a microcantilever sensor that is capable of measuring.