Super sensitive nano-sensor for bio-safety/bio-security based on photo-driven azobenzene polymer cantilever made by two-photon polymerization.
Project Status: 3 Approved without Funding
Duration in months: 24 months
Objective
The Project aim. During the project implementation is proposed:
- Development of technology for two-photon polymerization of azobenzene containing liquid crystal polymer (LCP) by femtosecond laser.
- Development of technology for making of the cantilever of micron and submicron sizes.
- Determination of dependence of cantilever oscillations frequency and amplitude vs. wavelength, polarization and intensity of exciting laser radiation. Determination of optimal modes.
- Determination of dependence of oscillations frequency and amplitude vs. cantilever dimensions.
- Development of registration technique of cantilever oscillations.
- Theoretical investigation and numerical modeling of cantilever oscillation process under the influence of exciting laser radiation.
- Study of the developed cantilever as a bio-sensor.
As a result of the project implementation the laboratory prototype of super sensitive bio-sensor will be developed. Current status.
Due to the rapid development of biological weapons and their disastrous environmental pollution, the availability of super sensitive sensors allowing early diagnosis, makes the life of society safe and secure, and well-known Latin phrase "forewarned is forearmed" today becomes of particular relevance. The modern technologies, especially nanotechnologies, allow sharply increasing the sensitivity of sensors, which are all around us literally in all areas. Recently ultra-compact, high sensitive nano-mechanical bio-sensor has been developed. It consists of a photon nano-waveguides and hanging over this waveguide cantilever. The sensitivity of this sensor is strictly dependent on the oscillation frequency of cantilever, causing its nano-metric size. The maximum amplitude of oscillations of such cantilever is no more than 20 nm, which significantly complicates the registration.
On the other hand a great number of cantilevers are made on other materials, particularly on LC polymers. These materials are photo-driven and their swinging can be realized directly by light. Tras and cis transitions in these polymers are easily provided by change of wavelength or polarization of control light beam. However the presented LC polymer cantilevers have millimetric dimensions and cannot be used as sensors. The creation of cantilever of micron or submicron dimensions on these materials will become the base for ultra-sensitive sensor fabrication. Technique allowing to solve this problem is two-photon polymerization (2PP), widely used for the manufacture of 3D printers. 2PP is a serial process for the fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures and it is a unique tool in the arsenal of unconventional microfabrication methods now available to scientists, because of its ability to produce geometries with no topological constraints with a resolution less than 100 nm. The project’s influence on progress in this area.
The present project is devoted to development of a super-sensitive nano-sensor based on azobenzene polymer cantilever. It is proposed to develop the making technology of sensor and carry out its laboratory testing. The sensor will be developed on the base of the latest photo-driven LC polymer materials using the novel technology of two-photon polymerization by femtosecond laser (fs). The developed sensor will have high sensitivity, will be easy to perform and to use, will have much lower cost. Developed sensor can be widely used for the selective registration of the smallest concentrations of various substances. Creation of such sensor and technology of its making will lead to revolutionary burst in bio-safety and bio-security. The goals of the project are:
§ Development of technology for making of cantilever based on azobenzene LCP by using 2PP technique.
§ Design of registration system of cantilever oscillations.
§ Development and creation of GUI in MatLab medium for interactive modeling of cantilever oscillations.
§ Making of laboratory prototype of bio-sensor based on developed cantilever.
§ Carry out the laboratory and independent testing of developed sensor.
In the aftermath of fulfillment of the project it is supposed to have a technology for azobenzene cantilever preparation and super sensitive bio-sensor on its base.
Participating Institutions
LEADING
Yerevan State University (YSU)
PARTICIPATING
Georgian Technical University (GTU)
PARTICIPATING
Center for the Advancement of Natural Discoveries using Light Emission (CANDLE)
