Interdigital Cantilevers as Biological Sensors

Interdisciplinary research between the natural sciences and engineering is a growing trend. Ambitious endeavors such as the Human Genome Project, a 15-year international effort to sequence the human genome no longer rely solely on traditional biological techniques such as gel electrophoresis for DNA sequence analyses. Instead, engineers are collaborating with chemists and biologists to apply engineering technologies to biological research. The results are devices such as DNA chips that allow thousands of DNA strands to be analyzed simultaneously for specific base pair sequences. Other efforts are being made to develop miniature “lab-on-chips” that can be used to detect and analyze chemicals.

It is amidst this environment that my project arises. We developed a system, based on the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) cantilever, to serve as a biosensor. The sensitivity of our sensor is demonstrated by detecting the presence of alkanethiols in ethanol solution. This system will hopefully serve as a step towards the development of a more general molecular recognition sensor that can detect the presence of specific biological molecules.