Micro-Sized Cantilevers Detect Viruses in Fluids

An efficient system for detecting the viruses in fluids uses micro-sized cantilevers coated with membrane proteins

Micro-cantilevers are .5 mm long and 1 µm thick and bend in response to different forces. By measuring changes in the frequencies at which these tiny planks vibrate, scientists could use them as super-sensitive virus-weighing scales. They used the protein receptor, FhuA of Escherichia coli known to bind to the T5 virus. They coated cantilever surfaces with a molecular layer of FhuA proteins sensitized to recognize molecules from the environment. When the array was submerged in a T5 containing fluid, the virus binding to FhuA was detected by measuring shifts in the vibrational frequency of micro-cantilevers.


Professor Martin Hegner at the school of physics and center for research on adaptive nanostructures and nanodevices (CRANN), Naughton Institute, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland, UK) and colleagues performed the measurements in physiological conditions using nanotechnology devices. Their work demonstrated that nanomechanical sensors based on resonating silicon micro-cantilevers could measure such interactions rapidly in fluids.

Commenting on the significance of the discovery, Professor Hegner said: "These findings could lead to more specific blood tests and also will enable portable diagnostic devices in a hospital environment for a range of testing not just viruses, but also genomic markers and marker proteins."

The findings appeared online in Nature News on January 18, 2009.

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