A LIFE MARKER CHIP FOR THE SPECIFIC MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF LIFE EXPERIMENT

摘要

The Specific Molecular Identification of Life Experiment(SMILE)represents the first in-situ attempt to search for a range of molecules in the Martian environment associated with extinct/extant life or potential life processes.SMILE will measure specific molecules using electrical and optical transduction techniques in three science subsystems,one of which- a molecular receptor array–is the subject of this paper. The instrument utilises large numbers of molecularly imprinted polymers and traditional biological receptors (e.g.antibodies)deposited on the measurement plane of an imaging interferometer(which also forms the basis of an UV-NIR imaging Fourier spectrometer for mineralogy studies),read out by an imaging detector, enabling many molecular targets to be measured simultaneously.Using recent developments in micro- fabricated transducer arrays,micro-fluidics and artificial molecular recognition systems,as well as recombinant antibody technology,this instrument forms a compact and robust biomarker sensor for planetary missions.The remaining subsystems are a capillary electrophoresis system(“MUSE”)and polymerase chain reaction system(“MARS”),to be described elsewhere.