New Generation of Saw Sensors Coatings for the Detection of Toxic Industrial Materials

The importance of DNA/RNA-based assays for detection of diseases, genome sequencing, forensics, and environmental control is continually increasing. High cost and complexity of current instrumentation for DNA/RNA sequencing prohibits their use in the fieldor at the point-of-care. Increasing knowledge in gene functions, gene expression and pharmacogenetics calls for new methods for rapid assessment of diseases. The challenge is the development of low cost and portable method for sequencing of DNA and/or RNAmolecules extracted from blood or urine samples, to recognize a specific sequence which points to eventual exposure to toxic or infectious agents. All conventional techniques are based on DNA/RNA molecule immobilization to a specific capture probeanchored to the surface using hybridization to a complementary DNA sequence of interest. Micro-array based probes require complex pre-synthesis and preparation of numerous capture probes that are often prone to non-specific binding. The proposed method isbased on electrophoretically separating and directing a single DNA/RNA molecule fragment of interest through a simple, self-assembled nano-pore detector. Sample preparation and detection are performed on-chip using microfluidic principles, which provideinstrument miniaturization. The method implies unprecedented sensitivity for each nucleobase as it passes through the detector and will offer a unique direct