Principal Investigator Scott Manalis
We also are developing electronic methods for selective real-time detection of label-free DNA. This approach uses microfabricated silicon field-effect sensors that directly measure the increase in surface charge when DNA hybridizes on a sensor surface. These sensors can measure nanomolar DNA concentrations within minutes and can detect a single base mismatch within 12-mer oligonucleotides. The sensors are manufactured by conventional, high-yield silicon microfabrication processes that can produce hundreds of sensors in parallel. The optimization of electronic DNA arrays for rapid characterization of nucleic acids would increase the speed and simplicity of assays for infectious agents, for scoring sequence polymorphisms and genotypes, and for measuring mRNA levels during expression profiling. Ultimately, this approach may allow us to detect gene expression from a single cell.