Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The average diameter of human hair is roughly 50 micrometers (50E-6 m). In units of human hair, micro-cantilever sensors are rectangular shaped levers approximately 1 hair wide, 4 hairs long and 0.2 hairs thick. These sensors can be incredibly sensitive to chemical and physical phenomena with sensitivities in the nanogram (10E-9 g), picoliter (10E-12 l), femtojoule (10E-15 J), and attomolar (10E-18 M)) with millisecond response time. Their small size and sensitivity combined with today's micromachining techniques makes cantilever sensors a promising technology for many medical applications. If cantilever sensors are so effective then why haven't they been implemented into commercial products? At this point in time cantilever sensors do not offer the reliability and reproducibility required for commercial use. Where many of the applications of cantilever sensors are in the medical field, it is imperative that these sensors meet the highest quality requirements. Therefore the initial goal of my research program at Memorial University will be to understand all factors that affect the reliability and reproducibility of cantilever sensors in order to transform them from proof-of-purpose devices into a commercial technology. Once this is done we will use cantilever sensors to detect various strains of the influenza virus and incorporate them into portable atmospheric testing instruments. These types of devices could then be used to perform constant air monitoring in places such as airplanes, airport and train terminals, and other public spaces such as schools and shopping malls.