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Nanomechanical sensors

Bent on detecting cancer

Nature Nanotechnology volume 8, pages 77–78 (2013)Cite this article

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Arrays of microcantilevers that have been coated with a specific oligonucleotide can be used to detect malignant melanoma.

Microcantilevers can be used to detect (and weigh) small structures and, if the cantilevers are small enough, single molecules. In one approach to such sensors, molecules are detected by monitoring the change in the resonance frequency of an oscillating cantilever when the molecules adsorb on its surface. Alternatively, molecules can be detected through the formation of surface stress on the cantilever due to molecular-binding events. In this case, receptor molecules are attached to one side of the cantilever beams and the cantilevers bend in response to the binding of analyte molecules to the receptors. This bending is due to the fact that analyte–receptor binding is driven by a reduction in free energy. The decrease in free-energy density on one side of the cantilever creates a change in surface tension (stress) and a differential bending moment that leads to the cantilever bending to relieve stress.

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Figure 1: Illustration of biomolecular sensing with MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) cantilevers.

© G. S. SHEKHAWAT, S-H. TARK AND V. P. DRAVID

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gajendra S. Shekhawat and Vinayak P. Dravid are in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and NUANCE Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA,

    Gajendra S. Shekhawat & Vinayak P. Dravid

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  1. Gajendra S. Shekhawat
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  2. Vinayak P. Dravid
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Correspondence to Gajendra S. Shekhawat or Vinayak P. Dravid.

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Shekhawat, G., Dravid, V. Bent on detecting cancer. Nature Nanotech 8, 77–78 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.10

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