Resonating cantilever sensor detects DNA hybridization at fM in human serum

ANYL 444

Raj Mutharasan, mutharasan@drexel.edu and Kishan Rijal. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
We show that small ssDNA (10 nt) can be reliably detected by hybridizing directly with its complementary strand (15 to 18 nt) immobilized on a piezoelectric-excited millimeter cantilever (PEMC) sensor by measuring the sensor's resonance frequency. The mass sensitivity of the PEMC sensor is ~0.3 fg/Hz. Detection at 1 fM to 1 nM concentration was measured in both hybridizing buffer and in 50% human serum in a flow circuit at 1 mL/min flow rate, using a fromat somewhat similar to a liquid chromatograph.. Both buffer controls and non complementary strands gave essentially zero response. The sensor distinguishes single nucleotide polymorphism in buffer at 1 fM, and detects complementary strand at 1 pM in presence of copious amounts (10,000 X) of non complementary strands. One application of the PEMC-based DNA detection that will be demonstrated is E coli O157:H7 via its STX1 gene in both clean and food matrix. The method does not use any labeled reagents.