The application of an atomic force microscope (AFM) based microcantilever system for the determination of mass of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been demonstrated. In this system, standard AFM microcantilevers for measurements in vacuum have been employed. The limit of mass determination with our AFM-based system has been determined to be of the order of 10~10 g. The prospects of employing AFM cantilever-based sensors for highly sensitive protein detection in proteomic studies and in diagnostics have been discussed.
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