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Towards mechanical characterization of biomolecules by MNEMS tools
Author(s) -
Collard Dominique,
Yamahata Christophe,
Legrand Bernard,
Takekawa Tetsuya,
Kumemura Momoko,
Sakaki Naoyoshi,
Hashiguchi Gen,
Fujita Hiroyuki
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
ieej transactions on electrical and electronic engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.254
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1931-4981
pISSN - 1931-4973
DOI - 10.1002/tee.20154
Subject(s) - tweezers , optical tweezers , nanotechnology , magnetic tweezers , biomolecule , actuator , computer science , characterization (materials science) , materials science , engineering , physics , electrical engineering , artificial intelligence , optics
Single‐molecule micromanipulations have provided information that has been awaited for a long time. However, these experiments relying on optical tweezers (OT) or magnetic tweezers (MT) have a low throughput since the molecular preparation is done one at a time. In order to move towards systematic biological or medical analysis, micro‐nano‐electromechanical systems (MNEMS) are the appropriate devices, as they integrate accurate molecular level engineering tools and can be cheaply produced with highly parallel fabrication processes. This paper investigates the ability of MNEMS tweezers to perform molecular manipulations. The mechanical forces relevant in biological interactions are first reviewed and compared to the performances of biophysical instruments. MNEMS tweezers are then presented. The tweezers integrate opposing sharp tips to capture the molecules, an actuator to stretch them and a displacement sensor to measure in real time the produced molecular extension. DNA molecular bundles are readily assembled and manipulated. The sensor provides a 0.3‐nm stretching resolution, equivalent to the interbase pair distance in double‐stranded DNA. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan© 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.