MEMS-based sensor and method for optical detection of peptides bio-reaction time

摘要

Medical applications often require the detection of specific peptides that are indicators of patients' specific medical conditions. The identification of such peptides is to some extent cumbersome and requires specialized equipment, specialized personnel and the results of the test may come as false negative or false positive. This paper presents the experimental results that directed towards the developments of a device and measurement system that is precisely detecting the reaction time between a peptide and a corresponding reaction match. A series of reaction signatures are identified and presented in the paper. Besides, SEM analysis of the peptides after the reaction confirms the existence of the signatures as the ones recorded by the authors. The proposed device could be miniaturized and a potential solution of the optical-based measurement system is presented and discussed. Serious challenges such as packaging or peptide manipulation are also discussed. The configuration of the sensing element is essential in producing the desired sensitivity of the device. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to prove that concentrations of fraction of ppm are detectable through this method.