PGI-8/ICS-8 Seminar: Dr. Mario Birkholz (IHP, Frankfurt/Oder)

Seminar of the PGI-8 / ICS-8:

Title: BioMEMS for affinity viscosimetric detection of low-molecular weight analytes

Speaker: Dr. Mario Birkholz (IHP, Frankfurt/Oder)

Date: 4 November 2013 Time: 11:00

Venue: building 2.4w, seminar room 309b

A fully embedded microelectromechanical system (MEMS) will be presented that operates as a microviscosimeter and may be applied for the detection of low-molecular-weight analytes by usage of an affinity assay. The binding competition between two ligands to a receptor molecule is utilized, with one of the ligands representing the target molecule, the concentration of which shall be determined. For the detection of glucose, for instance, the plant lectin Concanavalin A and the glucose polymer dextran are used. The viscosity is determined in a quasi-electrostatic mode by bending a 50 nm thin cantilever within the assay and measuring its velocity. Biostability of the MEMS was established by fabricating the mechanical components from the conductive ceramic TiN as available in the back-end-of-line (BEoL) stack. The in vitro operation of the sensor chip within the physiologically relevant range of glucose concentrations and its preparation with a 0.25 μm CMOS/BiCMOS pilot line will be illuminated. In addition, further biosensors under development will be outlined. The technology for their preparation is offered by IHP to external customers via a multi-project wafer (MPW) shuttle service.