Nanogap Biomolecular Junction
Abstract
The overall goal of this work is to develop the capability to create platforms with a small array that will be able to sense and identify a wide range of chemicals using real-time measurements to determine both the dynamics of biomolecular reactions as well as quantitative differences in binding characteristics. The specific goals of this project are to develop and understand the physiochemical mechanisms of a nanogap dielectric biosensor that has recently been demonstrated at BSAC. These devices, which are fabricated using standard CMOS technology, have the potential to serve as biomolecular junctions because their size reduces electrode polarization effects regardless of frequency. This junction technology is essentially a "biology-to-digital" converter system that enables real time conversion of biomolecular dielectric signals into digital information. Preliminary work using nanogap sensors to sense biomolecular binding has demonstrated a four order of magnitude increase in sensitivity over existing fluorescence techniques. Because sensors based on nanoscale gaps have not existed before, in order to exploit their capabilities in a sensor array, it will be critical to increase our understanding of their performance and to develop the tools required to integrate them into a sensor platform. Toward this goal, a series of experimental and modeling tasks are proposed that will investigate the physiochemical characteristics of the nanogap junctions. During this process, the nanogap junctions will also provide insight into fundamental biomolecular physics and processes applicable to other DARPA/DSO programs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 14, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA427808
Entities
People
- Luke P Lee
Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley