Microcantilever Based Microdiagnostic Kit for Biomedical Applications: A Cost-Benefit Outlook

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Piezoresistive actuation of a microcantilever induced by biomolecular binding such as DNA hybridization and antibody-antigen binding is an important principle useful in biosensing applications. As the magnitude of the forces exerted is small, increasing the sensitivity of the microcantilever becomes critical. In this paper, we are considering to achieve this by geometric variation of the cantilever. The sensitivity of the cantilever was improved so that the device can sense the presence of the antigen even if the magnitude of surface stresses over the microcantilever was very small. We consider a “T-shaped” cantilever that eliminates the disadvantages while improving the sensitivity simultaneously. An analysis of the cantilever using stainless steel and silicon has been performed using INTELLISUITE software (a microelectromechanical systems design and simulation package).

©2010 American Society of Mechanical Engineers