Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

A string on a musical instrument vibrates at a characteristic resonance frequency when plucked; adding weight to the string (or choosing a thicker string) allows shift to a lower frequency, or pitch. Nanoscale resonators are strings or rods of diameter from millionths to a thousandth of a millimeter in diameter, sensitive enough to show a measurable change in resonance frequency with added weight as small as that of a few large molecules. By coating their surface to allow only specific molecules e.g. disease marker molecules, to bind, we can detect small concentrations of markers. Early detection of cancer, sensitive monitoring of disease states during treatment, as well as detection of traces of chemicals in the environment are applications with strong potential. Additionally, the stiffness and durability of new materials engineered to have different internal structure can be evaluated from the resonance frequency of small structures. Study of the resonance also allows sensitive measurement of the force due to gas molecules colliding with the resonator surface, helping the development of rarefied gas dynamics theory. This theory may be used to predict the air damping force on more complex nanostructure shapes designed for biosensors, or the trajectory of large metre-sized objects after entering the rarefied upper atmosphere. This proposal is for construction of a facility that allows nanoresonator motion to be measured optically, over a large range of pressure, using laser interferometry. The facility will provide hands-on learning for students in the experimental areas of mechanics, optics, electronics, vacuum systems; and the understanding of research areas in materials science, rarefied gas dynamics and biomedical instrumentation design. Building this facility is a first step to enabling nanoresonator-based research at The University of Victoria, with strong potential for reducing avoidable patient suffering and healthcare costs, as well as contributing to basic science research in Canada.