Nanosensors Made Easy

Summary posted by Meridian on 1/21/2009
Source: Technology Review
Author: Prachi Patel-Predd

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have come up with a method that could allow the mass production of nanowire sensors. Such sensors could serve as very sensitive, affordable, handheld devices with the ability to quickly screen for hundreds of pathogens and toxic chemicals or the first signs of diseases. Other nanowire sensors have been developed but are difficult to mass-produce because there is no quick and easy way to place the tiny wires at precise locations on a surface. The Penn State researchers used an electric field to guide single nanowires into place on a silicon chip. The nanowires are then coated with molecules that bind to target molecules such as viruses or proteins. The conductivity of the nanowire changes when a target molecule attaches to the coating on the nanowire. Conventional diagnostic chips are more cumbersome because they rely on large microscopes to detect fluorescent molecules attached to the target molecule. According to Theresa Mayer, a professor of electrical engineering at Penn State, "[W]e would like to do this in a tiny chip all electrically, so it would be potentially low cost, ultraportable, low power, and compatible for diagnostics at the point of care." The article also details other current research on nanowire detectors. The article can be viewed online at the link below.

The original article may still be available at www.technologyreview.com/computing/21974/page1/

As tagged by Meridian Institute:

Health And Medical: Diagnostics, Devices, Diseases
Implications: Human Enhancement
Nanomaterials: Metal Nanoparticle
Regions: North America
Stakeholders: Government, Industry, Academia

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