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Science 17 March 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5767, p. 1517
DOI: 10.1126/science.311.5767.1517d
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This Week in Science

A promising approach for highly sensitive detection of biomolecules makes use of microfabricated cantilevers decorated with receptors or other molecules that would bind a molecule of interest. Binding creates a surface stress that deflects the cantilever. However, this deflection is small (on the order of tens of nanometers), and the methods used to date (optical, capacitive, and piezoelectric) have various limitations. Shekhawat et al. (p. 1592, published online 2 February) show that they can build a field-effect transistor into the cantilever that responds to surface stresses. Detected deflection changes of ~5 nanometers can be followed and allows detection of biotin and antibodies.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)