QSB: Femtogram Biomolecular Recognition Using Piezoelectric Cantilevers

Drexel University, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

The use of the microcantilever-based sensors for detecting onset of protein expression will be tested in a model cell line. The device consists of a piezoelectric cantilever smaller than 5 microns in length coupled to antibody proteins immobilized at the cantilever tip. Binding of target molecules is detected by monitoring the resonance frequency shift. Due to the small size, the cantilever potentially allows for high sensitivity. Because the proposed piezoelectric cantilever sensors use electrical signal for actuation and detection, the sensor and all necessary electronics can be organized in a compact form thereby enabling use in applications such as bioreactor monitoring and genomics-inspired proteomics.