SGER: Resonant Microsensor Based on Decoupled Sensing Scheme for Liquid-Phase Biochemical Sensing

基于解耦传感方案的谐振式微液相生化传感器本研究的目的是研制一种适用于液相的谐振式(生物)化学微传感器，它克服了流体阻尼对传感器分辨率的挑战。方法是将发生实际生物(化学)相互作用的微流控与传导元件(即机械谐振器)分离。提出的传感器概念确保了微谐振器的高Q因子工作，从而提高了其短期频率稳定度，并最终提高了传感器的分辨率。此外，该设计简化了微流控界面，即具有适当(功能化)电极的通道，从而避免了与直接将三维共振微结构暴露在液体中相关的挑战。为期一年的SGER的目标是制造所提出的传感器，并通过以下方式证明其适用性：(I)水中挥发性有机化合物的化学传感；(Ii)基于抗体-抗原相互作用的生物标记物的传感。这项研究的智能价值来自于谐振式微型传感器的新传感概念的开发，该概念将流体相互作用与实际谐振器振动分离。这项研究使谐振式传感器的优势能够应用于液相传感应用中，这些应用通常受到较大的流体阻尼的困扰，从而降低了传感器的分辨率。更广泛的影响源于当今具有简化的流体接口的高灵敏度微型传感器的可用性？S的液相传感应用范围从环境监测到医疗诊断。因此，跨学科研究培养从电气工程到生物和医学等领域的研究生和本科生。此外，基本的微结构，即微型梁，足够简单，可以用于K-12推广计划，以激发人们对科学和工程，特别是微米和纳米技术的兴趣。

Resonant Microsensor Based on Decoupled Sensing Schemefor Liquid-Phase Biochemical SensingThe objective of this research is to develop a resonant (bio)chemical microsensor for liquid-phase applications, which overcomes the challenge of fluid damping on the sensor resolution. The approach is to decouple the microfluidics, in which the actual bio(chemical) interaction takes place, from the transduction element, i.e. the mechanical resonator. The proposed sensor concept ensures high Q-factor operation of the microresonator, thus improving its short-term frequency stability and ultimately the sensor resolution. Moreover, the design simplifies the microfluidic interface, a channel with appropriate (functionalized) electrodes, thus avoiding challenges associated with direct exposure of a three-dimensional resonant microstructure to the liquid. The goal of the 1-year SGER is to fabricate the proposed sensor and demonstrate its applicability through: (i) chemical sensing of volatile organic compounds in water, and (ii) sensing of biomarkers based on antibody-antigen interaction. The intellectual merit of the research stems from the development of a new sensing concept for resonant microsensors, which decouples fluid interaction from the actual resonator vibrations. The research enables to apply the advantages of resonant sensors to liquid-phase sensing applications, which are normally plagued by large fluid damping and, thus, deteriorated sensor resolution.The broader impact stems from the availability of a highly sensitive microsensor with simplified fluidic interface for today?s liquid-phase sensing applications ranging from environmental monitoring to point-of-care medical diagnosis. Thereby, the cross-disciplinary research trains graduate and undergraduate students in areas spanning from electrical engineering to biology and medicine. Moreover, the underlying microstructures, namely miniaturized beams, are simple enough to be used in K-12 outreach programs to spark interest in science and engineering in general and micro- and nanotechnology in particular.