25
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      A Self-Sensing Piezoelectric MicroCantilever Biosensor for Detection of Ultrasmall Adsorbed Masses: Theory and Experiments

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Detection of ultrasmall masses such as proteins and pathogens has been made possible as a result of advancements in nanotechnology. Development of label-free and highly sensitive biosensors has enabled the transduction of molecular recognition into detectable physical quantities. Microcantilever (MC)-based systems have played a widespread role in developing such biosensors. One of the most important drawbacks of all of the available biosensors is that they all come at a very high cost. Moreover, there are certain limitations in the measurement equipments attached to the biosensors which are mostly optical measurement systems. A unique self-sensing detection technique is proposed in this paper in order to address most of the limitations of the current measurement systems. A self-sensing bridge is used to excite piezoelectric MC-based sensor functioning in dynamic mode, which simultaneously measures the system's response through the self-induced voltage generated in the piezoelectric material. As a result, the need for bulky, expensive read-out equipment is eliminated. A comprehensive mathematical model is presented for the proposed self-sensing detection platform using distributed-parameters system modeling. An adaptation strategy is then implemented in the second part in order to compensate for the time-variation of piezoelectric properties which dynamically improves the behavior of the system. Finally, results are reported from an extensive experimental investigation carried out to prove the capability of the proposed platform. Experimental results verified the proposed mathematical modeling presented in the first part of the study with accuracy of 97.48%. Implementing the adaptation strategy increased the accuracy to 99.82%. These results proved the measurement capability of the proposed self-sensing strategy. It enables development of a cost-effective, sensitive and miniaturized mass sensing platform.

          Related collections

          Most cited references91

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Bioassay of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) using microcantilevers.

          Diagnosis and monitoring of complex diseases such as cancer require quantitative detection of multiple proteins. Recent work has shown that when specific biomolecular binding occurs on one surface of a microcantilever beam, intermolecular nanomechanics bend the cantilever, which can be optically detected. Although this label-free technique readily lends itself to formation of microcantilever arrays, what has remained unclear is the technologically critical issue of whether it is sufficiently specific and sensitive to detect disease-related proteins at clinically relevant conditions and concentrations. As an example, we report here that microcantilevers of different geometries have been used to detect two forms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) over a wide range of concentrations from 0.2 ng/ml to 60 microg/ml in a background of human serum albumin (HSA) and human plasminogen (HP) at 1 mg/ml, making this a clinically relevant diagnostic technique for prostate cancer. Because cantilever motion originates from the free-energy change induced by specific biomolecular binding, this technique may offer a common platform for high-throughput label-free analysis of protein-protein binding, DNA hybridization, and DNA-protein interactions, as well as drug discovery.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            A label-free immunosensor array using single-chain antibody fragments.

            We report a microcantilever-based immunosensor operated in static deflection mode with a performance comparable with surface plasmon resonance, using single-chain Fv (scFv) antibody fragments as receptor molecules. As a model system scFv fragments with specificity to two different antigens were applied. We introduced a cysteine residue at the C terminus of each scFv construct to allow covalent attachment to gold-coated sensor interfaces in directed orientation. Application of an array enabled simultaneous deflection measurements of sensing and reference cantilevers. The differential deflection signal revealed specific antigen binding and was proportional to the antigen concentration in solution. Using small, oriented scFv fragments as receptor molecules we increased the sensitivity of microcantilevers to approximately 1 nM.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Rapid and label-free nanomechanical detection of biomarker transcripts in human RNA.

              The availability of entire genome sequences has triggered the development of microarrays for clinical diagnostics that measure the expression levels of specific genes. Methods that involve labelling can achieve picomolar detection sensitivity, but they are costly, labour-intensive and time-consuming. Moreover, target amplification or biochemical labelling can influence the original signal. We have improved the biosensitivity of label-free cantilever-array sensors by orders of magnitude to detect mRNA biomarker candidates in total cellular RNA. Differential gene expression of the gene 1-8U, a potential marker for cancer progression or viral infections, has been observed in a complex background. The measurements provide results within minutes at the picomolar level without target amplification, and are sensitive to base mismatches. This qualifies the technology as a rapid method to validate biomarkers that reveal disease risk, disease progression or therapy response. We foresee cantilever arrays being used as a tool to evaluate treatment response efficacy for personalized medical diagnostics.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Sensors (Basel)
                Sensors (Basel)
                Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
                Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)
                1424-8220
                May 2013
                10 May 2013
                : 13
                : 5
                : 6089-6108
                Affiliations
                [1 ] Piezoactive Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA; E-Mail: faegh.s@ 123456husky.neu.edu
                [2 ] Nanomedicine Science and Technology Center, Department of Physics, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA; E-Mail: s.sridhar@ 123456neu.edu
                Author notes
                [* ]Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: n.jalili@ 123456neu.edu ; Tel.: +1-617-373-3629; Fax: +1-617-373-2921.
                Article
                sensors-13-06089
                10.3390/s130506089
                3690046
                23666133
                a77cbf46-4886-4ebf-89a2-8e19c36862f4
                © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

                This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

                History
                : 06 April 2013
                : 04 May 2013
                : 06 May 2013
                Categories
                Article

                Biomedical engineering
                microcantilever,biosensor,distributed-parameter modeling,mass detection
                Biomedical engineering
                microcantilever, biosensor, distributed-parameter modeling, mass detection

                Comments

                Comment on this article