Motorized Nanolabs: Dually High-Speed and Ultrasensitive Bioanalysis

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The objective of this research is to investigate a new concept of a biochemical analysis system made of motorized micro/nanosensors that offers unprecedented high sensitivity and detection speed of biomarkers, relevant to disease diagnosis and early intervention. Although significant efforts have been made in advancing nanosensors with extremely high sensitivity for bioanalysis, the low efficiency of the detection of molecules in fluidic samples remains a grand unmet challenge. The challenge arises from low attachment opportunities of molecules to a nanosensor at ultralow concentrations. This intrinsic problem has greatly hindered the practical applications of nanosensors in early disease diagnosis. In this work, an advanced actuation approach is proposed to realize a bioanalysis system, namely robotic nanolab, which will actively enhance the capture speed of molecules by utilizing arrays of ultrasensitive nanosensors. The high speed and sensitive bioanalysis system will be applied for the detection of multiple biomarkers of pancreas cancers for early-stage diagnosis. The proposed research will be combined with various educational and outreach efforts. A workshop will be organized that will gather leading researchers from both academia and industry to facilitate a discussion on nanosensors. Results will be disseminated in conferences. Demonstrations of device module will be conducted in specific events, including explore-UT (University of Texas at Austin) and Girl's Day, to inspire the public interest and awareness of new technological breakthroughs.In recent years, researchers have developed nanoscale sensors with sensitivity at the single-molecule level. However, the nanoscale features of these devices that enable ultrasensitive detection undesirably results in low detection speed, due to the low probability of molecules captured by small sensing areas. The difficulties are further compounded by the complex fabrication and integration schemes. To overcome these issues, the objective of this research is to investigate a new concept of motorized nanolab to offer unprecedented ultrasensitivity, motion control, and robustness for biodetection and analysis. The motorized nanolab will be realized by arrays of Raman micro/nanosensors with highly reproducible detection scheme. The system will be controlled intelligently and efficiently for high-speed detection of cancer biomarkers. The detection time of biomarkers at low concentrations could be substantially reduced, e.g. from hours to minutes. If successful, this research could inspire an innovative class of biosensors for early cancer detection and intervention.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.