Mass and Stiffness Deconvolution in Nanomechanical Resonators for Precise Mass Measurement and In Vivo Biosensing

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biophysics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Nanomechanical sensors offer high sensitivity for detecting biological and chemical entities.
• Resonator frequency shifts are key to mass spectrometry and biomolecule analysis.
• Previous work utilized these systems for mass measurement and surface science studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a methodology for characterizing nanomechanical resonators with adsorbed entities.
• To quantify mass, density, and Young's modulus of adsorbed materials.
• To present an experimental method for in-situ mass measurement of biological entities.

Main Methods:

• Combined experimental measurements and numerical simulations.
• Analysis of nanomechanical resonator characteristics with surface adsorption.
• Development of an experimental approach for physiological environment measurements.

Main Results:

• A methodology to explore nanomechanical resonator properties with adsorbed entities was developed.
• The approach allows quantification of mass, density, and Young's modulus.
• An experimental method for measuring mass of molecules and living biological entities in their physiological environment was presented.

Conclusions:

• The proposed concept enables precise characterization of adsorbed entities on nanomechanical resonators.
• This method facilitates label-free, nonfunctionalized biosensing and mass spectrometry.
• Potential applications include predicting bionanoelectromechanical resonator behavior and analyzing living bioentities.