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

基于解耦传感技术的谐振式微传感器液相生物化学传感本研究的目的是开发一种适用于液相应用的谐振式（生物）化学微传感器，克服流体阻尼对传感器分辨率的挑战。该方法是将发生实际生物（化学）相互作用的微流体与换能元件（即机械谐振器）解耦。所提出的传感器概念确保了微谐振器的高Q因子操作，从而提高了其短期频率稳定性，并最终提高了传感器分辨率。此外，该设计简化了微流体接口，即具有适当（功能化）电极的通道，从而避免了与三维共振微结构直接暴露于液体相关的挑战。1年SGER的目标是制造拟议的传感器，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，以及（ii）基于抗体-抗原相互作用的生物标志物的传感。该研究的智力价值源于谐振微传感器的新感测概念的发展，该概念将流体相互作用与实际谐振器振动相结合。这项研究使应用的优势，谐振传感器的液相传感应用，这是通常困扰着大流体阻尼，因此，恶化的传感器resolution.The更广泛的影响源于一个高度敏感的微传感器的可用性与简化的流体接口，今天？的液相传感应用，从环境监测到床旁医疗诊断。因此，跨学科的研究训练研究生和本科生在从电气工程到生物学和医学的领域。此外，底层的微结构，即小型化的光束，足够简单，可以用于K-12外展计划，以激发人们对科学和工程的兴趣，特别是对微技术和纳米技术的兴趣。

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.