Principal Investigator Scott Manalis
We are developing a resonant mass sensor for specific biomolecular detection in picoliter sample volumes. The sensing principle is based on measuring shifts in resonance frequency of a suspended microfluidic channel when molecules accumulate inside the channel walls. This device can be actuated by electrostatic forces and integrated directly with conventional microfluidic systems. So far, we have achieved a sensor with a surface mass resolution that is comparable to a quartz crystal microbalance, and we are now optimizing the system to improve the surface mass resolution to the equivalent of one protein per square micron. We envision that an array of suspended microchannel detectors with this resolution may provide a highly efficient alternative to fluorescence-based detection for protein microarrays, which would have great utility for pharmaceutical and biological research, medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring.