Nanomechanical Cantilever Array Sensors

Multimodal real-time frequency tracking of cantilever arrays in liquid environment for biodetection: Comprehensive setup and performance analysis

We present a nanomechanical platform for real-time quantitative label-free detection of target biomolecules in a liquid environment with mass sensitivity down to few pg. Newly fabricated arrays of up to 18 cantilevers are integrated in a micromachined fluidic chamber, connected to software-controlled fluidic pumps for automated sample injections. We discuss two functionalization approaches to independently sensitize the interface of different cantilevers. A custom piezo-stack actuator and optical readout system enable the measurement of resonance frequencies up to 2 MHz. We implement a new measurement strategy based on a phase-locked loop (PLL), built via in-house developed software. The PLL allows us to track, within the same experiment, the evolution of resonance frequency over time of up to four modes for all the cantilevers in the array. With respect to the previous measurement technique, based on standard frequency sweep, the PLL enhances the estimated detection limit of the device by a factor of 7 (down to 2 pg in 5 min integration time) and the time resolution by more than threefold (below 15 s), being on par with commercial gold-standard techniques. The detection limit and noise of the new setup are investigated via Allan deviation and standard deviation analysis, considering different resonance modes and interface chemistries. As a proof-of-concept, we show the immobilization and label-free in situ detection of live bacterial cells (E. coli), demonstrating qualitative and quantitative agreement in the mechanical response of three different resonance modes.

Cantilever-Based Sensor Utilizing a Diffractive Optical Element with High Sensitivity to Relative Humidity

High-sensitivity and simple, low-cost readout are desirable features for sensors independent of the application area. Micro-cantilever sensors use the deflection induced by the analyte presence to achieve high-sensitivity but possess complex electronic readouts. Current holographic sensors probe the analyte presence by measuring changes in their optical properties, have a simpler low-cost readout, but their sensitivity can be further improved. Here, the two working principles were combined to obtain a new hybrid sensor with enhanced sensitivity. The diffractive element, a holographically patterned thin photopolymer layer, was placed on a polymer (polydimethylsiloxane) layer forming a bi-layer macro-cantilever. The different responses of the layers to analyte presence lead to cantilever deflection. The sensitivity and detection limits were evaluated by measuring the variation in cantilever deflection and diffraction efficiency with relative humidity. It was observed that the sensitivity is tunable by controlling the spatial frequency of the photopolymer gratings and the cantilever thickness. The sensor deflection was also visible to the naked eye, making it a simple, user-friendly device. The hybrid sensor diffraction efficiency response to the target analyte had an increased sensitivity (10-fold when compared with the cantilever or holographic modes operating independently), requiring a minimum upturn in the readout complexity.

Silicon Microcantilever Sensors to Detect the Reversible Conformational Change of a Molecular Switch, Spiropyan

The high sensitivity of silicon microcantilever sensors has expanded their use in areas ranging from gas sensing to bio-medical applications. Photochromic molecules also represent promising candidates for a large variety of sensing applications. In this work, the operating principles of these two sensing methods are combined in order to detect the reversible conformational change of a molecular switch, spiropyran. Thus, arrays of silicon microcantilever sensors were functionalized with spiropyran on the gold covered side and used as test microcantilevers. The microcantilever deflection response was observed, in five sequential cycles, as the transition from the spiropyran (SP) (CLOSED) to the merocyanine (MC) (OPEN) state and vice-versa when induced by UV and white light LED sources, respectively, proving the reversibility capabilities of this type of sensor. The microcantilever deflection direction was observed to be in one direction when changing to the MC state and in the opposite direction when changing back to the SP state. A tensile stress was induced in the microcantilever when the SP to MC transition took place, while a compressive stress was observed for the reverse transition. These different type of stresses are believed to be related to the spatial conformational changes induced in the photochromic molecule upon photo-isomerisation.

Cantilever Functionalization Using Peroxidase Extract of Low Cost for Glyphosate Detection

A cantilever nanobiosensor functionalized with vegetable source of peroxidase was developed as an innovative way for glyphosate herbicide detection over a wide concentration range (0.01 to 10 mg L-1) using atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique. The extract obtained from zucchini (Cucurbita pepo source of peroxidase), with high enzymatic activity and stability has been used as bio-recognition element to develop a nanobiosensor. The polarization-modulated reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (PM-RAIRS) demonstrated the deposition of enzyme on cantilever surface using self-assembled monolayers (SAM) by the presence of the amide I and II bands. The detection mechanism of glyphosate was based on the changes in surface tension caused by the analyte adsorption, resulting in a conformational change in the enzyme structure. In this way, the results of nanobiosensor demonstrate the potential of the sensing device for detecting glyphosate with a detection limit of 0.028 mg L-1.

Effective sensor properties and sensitivity considerations of a dynamic co-resonantly coupled cantilever sensor

Background: Co-resonant coupling of a micro- and a nanocantilever can be introduced to significantly enhance the sensitivity of dynamic-mode cantilever sensors while maintaining the ease of detection. Experimentally, a low-stiffness nanocantilever is coupled to an easy to read out microcantilever and the eigenfrequencies of both beams are brought close to one another. This results in a strong interplay between both beams and, hence, any interaction applied at the nanocantilever alters the oscillatory state of the coupled system as a whole and can be detected at the microcantilever. The amplitude response curve of the microcantilever exhibits two resonance peaks and their response to an interaction applied to the sensor depends on the properties of the individual beams and the degree of frequency matching. Consequently, while an individual cantilever is characterized by its eigenfrequency, spring constant, effective mass and quality factor, the resonance peaks of the co-resonantly coupled system can be described by effective properties which are a mixture of both subsystem's characteristics. These effective properties give insight into the amount of sensitivity of the nanocantilever that can be accessed and, consequently, into the sensitivity gain associated with the co-resonance. In order to design sensors based on the co-resonant principle and predict their behaviour it is crucial to derive a description for these effective sensor properties. Results: By modeling the co-resonantly coupled system as a coupled harmonic oscillator and using electromechanical analogies, analytical expressions for the effective sensor properties have been derived and discussed. To illustrate the findings, numerical values for an exemplary system based on experimental sensor realizations have been employed. The results give insight into the complex interplay between the individual subsystem's properties and the frequency matching, leading to a rather large parameter space for the co-resonant system's effective properties. While the effective spring constant and effective mass mainly define the sensitivity of the coupled cantilever sensor, the effective quality factor primarily influences the detectability. Hence, a balance has to be found in optimizing both parameters in sensor design which becomes possible with the derived analytic expressions. Besides the description of effective sensor properties, it was studied how the thermal noise and, consequently, minimal detectable frequency shift for the co-resonantly coupled sensor represented by a coupled harmonic oscillator could be derived. Due to the complex nature of the coupled system's transfer function and the required analysis, it is beyond the scope of this publication to present a full solution. Instead, a simplified approach to estimate the minimal detectable frequency shift for the co-resonant system based on the effective sensor properties is given. Conclusion: By establishing a theoretical description for the effective sensor properties of a co-resonantly coupled system, the design of such systems is facilitated as sensor parameters can easily be predicted and adapted for a desired use case. It allows to study the potential sensitivity (gain) and detectability capabilities before sensor fabrication in a fast and easy way, even for large parameter spaces. So far, such an analysis of a co-resonantly coupled sensor was only possible with numerical methods and even then only with very limited capability to include and understand the complex interplay between all contributions. The outlined calculation steps regarding the noise considerations in a coupled harmonic oscillator system can provide the basis for a thorough study of that question. Furthermore, in a broader scope, the investigations presented within this work contribute towards extending and completing the already established theoretical basics of this novel co-resonant sensor concept and open up new ways of studying the coupled system's behaviour.

Microcantilever sensors coated with doped polyaniline for the detection of water vapor

In the present work, PANI (polyaniline) emeraldine salt (doped) and base (dedoped) were used as the sensitive layer of a silicon microcantilever, and the mechanical response (deflection) of the bimaterial (coated microcantilever) was investigated under the influence of humidity. PANI in the emeraldine base oxidation state was obtained by interfacial synthesis and was deposited on the microcantilever surface by spin-coating (dedoped). Next, the conducting polymer was doped with 1 M HCl (hydrochloric acid). A four-quadrant AFM head with an integrated laser and a position-sensitive detector (AFM Veeco Dimension V) was used to measure the optical deflection of the coated microcantilever. The deflection of the coated (doped and undoped PANI) and uncoated microcantilever was measured under different humidities (in triplicate) at room pressure and temperature in a closed chamber to evaluate the sensor's sensitivity. The relative humidity (RH) in the chamber was varied from 20% to 70% using dry nitrogen as a carrier gas, which was passed through a bubbler containing water to generate humidity. The results showed that microcantilevers coated with sensitive layers of doped and undoped PANI films were sensitive (12,717 ± 6% and 6,939 ± 8%, respectively) and provided good repeatability (98.6 ± 0.015% and 99 ± 0.01%, respectively) after several cycles of exposure to RH. The microcantilever sensor without a PANI coating (uncoated) was not sensitive to humidity. The strong effect of doping on the sensitivity of the sensor was attributed to an increased adsorption of water molecules dissociated at imine nitrogen centers, which improves the performance of the coated microcantilever sensor. Moreover, microcantilever sensors coated with a sensitive layer provided good results in several cycles of exposure to RH (%).