Serial weighting of micro-objects with resonant microchanneled cantilevers

Area of Science:

• Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers are sensitive mass sensors.
• Current AFM mass sensing is limited by the lack of practical catch-and-release mechanisms for dynamic weighting.
• Existing methods struggle with high-throughput measurements of microobjects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a practical method for high-throughput, accurate mass sensing of microobjects using AFM.
• To overcome the limitations of standard AFM-based mass sensors.
• To enable dynamic weighting of single microobjects with high precision.

Main Methods:

• Exploitation of FluidFM hollow cantilevers for microobject manipulation and weighting.
• Extension of dynamic models for AFM cantilevers to hollow cantilever configurations.
• Validation of mass weighting in air using test samples.

Main Results:

• A novel method enabling high-throughput single object weighting with picogram accuracy was demonstrated.
• FluidFM hollow cantilevers effectively overcome standard limitations in AFM mass sensing.
• The dynamic models for hollow cantilevers were successfully extended and validated.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method significantly advances AFM-based mass sensing capabilities.
• FluidFM hollow cantilevers offer a practical solution for dynamic weighting of microobjects.
• This technology opens new avenues for precise mass measurements in various scientific fields.