Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T09:07:25.680Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Spore Detection in Air and Fluid Using Micro-cantilever Sensors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Angelica P. Davila
Affiliation:
[email protected], Purdue University, Electrical and Computer Engineering, 465 Northwestern Ave., West Lafayette, IN, 47907, United States
Amit Gupta
Affiliation:
[email protected], Purdue University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, United States
Tom Walter
Affiliation:
[email protected], Purdue University, Department of Biological Sciences, United States
Demir Akin
Affiliation:
[email protected], Purdue University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, United States
Arthur Aronson
Affiliation:
[email protected], Purdue University, Department of Biological Sciences, United States
Rashid Bashir
Affiliation:
[email protected], Purdue University, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, United States
Get access

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to report on our work to develop a real-time monitoring device by using micro-cantilevers for the mass detection of biological organisms in air and fluid. The biological agent used was Bacillus anthracis Sterne spore. The experiment was conducted using a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) to measure the resonant frequency of the thermal noise cantilevers and the corresponding decrease in frequency as a result of the added mass. Moreover, the added mass attributed to the spores was quantified and compared in air and deionized (DI) water. The silicon cantilevers used in this study were of lengths ranging from 25 μm to 50 μm, 200 nm thick and a width of approximately 9 μm. The first part of the experiment consisted of suspending spores onto the cantilevers in fluid, drying the cantilevers, performing measurements in air and extracting the mass of the added spores. The average mass of a spore in air was 367 fg. The second part of the experiment utilized antibody and bovine serum albumin (BSA) physically adsorbed onto the cantilevers in order to fix the spores on the surface during the measurements in deionized water. The extracted mass of a spore in fluid was measured to be an average of 1.85 pg. This study demonstrated the ability to detect biological samples not only in air but also in a liquid environment.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Ilic, B., Craighead, H.G., Krylov, S., Senaratne, W., Ober, C. and Neuzil, P., “Attogram detection using nanomechanical oscillators,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 95, no 7, 2004.Google Scholar
2. Gupta, A., Akin, D. and Bashir, R., “Detection of bacterial cells and antibodies using surface micromachined thin silicon cantilever resonators,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, vol. 22, no. 6, Nov/Dec 2004.Google Scholar
3. Ilic, B., Czaplewski, D., Craighead, H.G., Neuzil, P., Campagnolo, C. and Batt, C., “Mechanical resonant immunospecific biological detector,” Appl. Phys. Letters, vol. 77, pp. 450452, 2000.Google Scholar
4. Gupta, A., Akin, D., Bashir, R., “Single virus particle mass detection using microresonators with nanoscale thickness”, Appl. Phys. Letters, vol. 84, no. 10, pp. 19761978, Mar 2004.Google Scholar
5. Walters, D. A., Cleveland, J. P., Thomson, N. H., Hansma, P. K., Wendman, M. A., Gurley, G. and Elings, V.. “Short cantilevers for atomic force microscopy,” Rev. Sci. Instrum., vol. 67, pp. 35833590, Oct. 1996.Google Scholar
6. Sader, J.E, Chon, J.W and Mulvaney, P., “Calibration of rectangular atomic force microscope cantilevers,” Rev. Sci. Instrum., vol. 70, pp. 39673969, Oct. 1999.Google Scholar
7. Chon, J.W., Mulvaney, P. and Sader, J.E.. “Experimental validation of theoretical models for the frequency responce of atomic force microscopes cantilever beams immersed in fluids,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 87, pp.39783988, Apr. 2000.Google Scholar
8. Braun, T., Barwich, V., Ghatkesar, M.K., Bredekamp, A. H., Gerber, C., Hegner, M. and Lang, H.P., “Micromechanical mass sensors for biomolecular detection in a physiological envrionment,” Phys. Rev. E, vol. 72, no. 031907, 2005.Google Scholar
9. Chon, J.W.M, Mulvaney, P. and Sader, J.E., “Experimental validation of theoretical models for the frequency response,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 87, no. 8, pp. 39783988, Apr 2000.Google Scholar