CAREER: A Probe-less Large-array Protein Sensor via MEMS Technology

本研究的目的是解决分子探针在生物传感器中应用的基本问题，并利用MEMS(Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems)技术实现微封装。方法是利用自然的S竞争吸附现象，即弗罗曼效应，描述吸附在表面的低相对分子质量蛋白质如何被随后的较高相对分子质量蛋白质置换和交换。利用MEMS技术将生物传感器封装在芯片级和晶片级，现有的基于MEMS的生物传感器具有极高的灵敏度。然而，为了实现高选择性，它们使用核酸、酶和抗体等分子探针，并连接到传感器表面以捕获特定的目标分子。然而，这些探针施加了许多限制：昂贵的试剂，受过高等教育的操作技术人员，最重要的是，不可能找到所有目标分子的探针。建议的研究通过利用自然界中的S竞争吸附/交换现象、弗罗曼效应来解决这些问题。通过将已知大小的蛋白质覆盖在大量不同的表面，可以在不使用分子探针的情况下获得微型化的蛋白质传感器。所提出的无探针生物传感器是一个新的概念，可以在生物研究仪器中引入新的研究领域。微封装方法的通用特性可用于其他类型的基于MEMS的器件。教育活动的范围从12岁到12岁的学生和教师，到大学生，包括代表性不足的少数民族和妇女。学生将体验通过实验了解蛋白质的基本原理？是的！暑期计划？在亚利桑那州立大学。

The objective of this research is to tackle fundamental issues in the use of molecular probe in biosensors and implement a micro-packaging via MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) technology. The approach is to use nature?s competitive adsorption phenomena, namely the Vroman effect, which describes how low molecular weight proteins adsorbed on a surface are displaced and exchanged by subsequently higher molecular weight proteins. The biosensors are encapsulated in both chip-level and wafer-level using MEMS technology.Existing MEMS-based biosensors have extremely high sensitivity. To achieve high selectivity, however, they use molecular probes such as nucleic acids, enzymes, and antibodies and are attached to transducer surfaces to capture specific target molecules. However, these probes impose many limitations: expensive reagents, highly-educated technicians to operate, and above all it is impossible to find probes for all target molecules. The proposed research tackles these issues by leveraging nature?s competitive adsorption/exchange phenomena, the Vroman effect. By having a large array of different surfaces that are covered by proteins of known size, it is possible to have a miniaturized protein sensor without using molecular probes.The proposed probe-less biosensor is a new concept, which can lead to new research areas in instruments for biological research. The generic feature of the micro-packaging methodology can be used for other types of MEMS-based devices. The educational activities range from K-12 students and teachers to college students including under-represented minorities and women. Students will experience experiments to understand fundamentals of proteins via the ?YES! Summer Program? at Arizona State University.