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US 2014/0228227 A1Published application
Nanomagnetic detector array for biomolecular recognition
AssigneeUniversity of Houston
InventorsDmitri Litvinov, Richard Willson
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Abstract
A biomolecular sensor system includes an array of magnetoresistive nanosensors designed for sensing biomolecule-conjugated superparamagnetic nanoparticles. Materials and geometry of each sensor element are designed for optimized sensitivity. The system includes magnetic field generators to apply forces to superparamagnetic nanoparticles for 1) nanoparticle manipulation, 2) sensor magnetic biasing, 3) magnetic pull-off measurement for differentiation against non-specific association, and 4) removal of all particles from the sensor array surface.
Claims19
A method comprising the steps of:
- exposing a plurality of superparamagnetic nanoparticles to a sensor array, wherein at least some of the superparamagnetic nanoparticles have at least one biomolecular species bound to their surface,
- the sensor array comprising,
- a plurality of nanomagnetic sensing elements, wherein the sensing elements individually provide for less than 10 morphologically equivalent magnetization distribution states, by virtue of their nanometric size and corresponding nanomagnetic properties, and wherein electrical properties of said sensing elements vary in response to changes in applied magnetic environments, when such magnetic environments are applied, and
- molecular recognition elements associated with at least 0.001% of the nanomagnetic sensing elements;
- and
- permitting the biomolecular species on the superparamagnetic nanoparticles to conjugate with corresponding molecular recognition elements associated with the nanomagnetic sensing elements of the nanomagnetic sensor array so as to permit formation of a conjugated assembly.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.