A microcantilever-based, dual-mode, quantitative sensing platform for investigation of biological interactions

Abstract

Since the introduction of the atomic force microscope (AFM) and the subsequent availability of high-quality cantilevers the interest in the application of microcantilevers as biosensors has increased year-on-year. Much of the work using these sensors involves working in either the static or the dynamic mode, however there is little work described in the literature involving the use of the two modes in parallel. This thesis describes the development of a dual-mode microcantilever-based sensing platform for applications of quantitative biosensing in a liquid. Due to the large damping of the liquid the application of the dual-mode device for the detection of small biomolecules in low concentration requires the use of a mass label which can increase the sensitivity of the device.