Mechanics and transport at nanoscale: towards new sensor technology

当拨动乐器上的弦时，弦以特定的音高或共振频率振动；增加弦的重量(或选择较粗的弦)可以移动到较低的频率。纳米谐振器--直径小于千分之一毫米的弦或棒，随着增加的重量小到几个生物分子的重量，在共振频率上显示出可测量的变化。对癌症、急性炎症和衰老中的神经变性等疾病状态的生物传感将极大地受益于纳米谐振器的非凡敏感性，这将使早期检测或敏感的治疗监测成为可能。这些将为患者带来更好的结果，并降低医疗成本。在稀薄环境中研究材料的力学性能和纳米谐振器的空气阻尼力，将有助于生物传感器的设计，并将有助于材料和流体科学的基础知识，具有广泛的适用性。

A string on a musical instrument vibrates at a characteristic pitch, or resonance frequency, when plucked; adding weight to the string (or choosing a thicker string) allows shift to a lower frequency. Nanoresonators - strings or rods of diameter below a thousandth of a millimetre, show a measurable change in resonance frequency with added weight as small as that of a few biomolecules. Biosensing for disease states such as cancer, acute inflammation and neurodegeneration in aging will greatly benefit from this extraordinary sensitivity of nanoresonators, which will enable early detection or sensitive treatment-monitoring. These would lead to better outcomes for patients and to reduced healthcare costs. The proposed studies of mechanical properties of materials and of air damping forces for nanoresonators in a rarefied environment, will aid biosensor design and will contribute fundamental knowledge in materials and fluid science, with broad applicability.