Theoretical Analysis for Bending of Single-Stranded DNA Adsorption on Microcantilever Sensors.

An energy-based model is presented to establish the bending deformation of microcantilever beams induced by single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) adsorption. The total free energy of the DNA-microcantilever sensor was obtained by considering the excluded-volume energy and the polymer stretching energy of DNA chains from mean-field theory, and the mechanical energy of three non-biological layers. The radius of curvature and deflection of the cantilever were determined through the minimum principle of energy. The efficiency of the present model was confirmed through comparison with experimental data. The effects of length, grafting density, salt concentration, thickness, and elastic modulus of substrate on tip deflections are also discussed in this paper. These factors can significantly affect the deflections of the biosensor. This work demonstrates that it is useful to develop a theoretical model for the label-free nanomechanical detection technique.

Effect of surface charge state on the surface stress of a microcantilever.

The surface charge state at a liquid-solid interface is important to the variations in the physical/chemical properties of adsorbate film such as surface stress and the ensuing tip deflection of the microcantilever. The well-known Stoney's equation, derived more than 100 years ago, conceals the film electrical properties with the replacement of substrate deformation induced by adsorptions of particles. This implicit expression provides a shortcut to circumvent the difficulty in identifying some film properties, however, it limits the capacity to ascertain the relation between surface stress variation and the surface charge state. In this paper, we present an analytical expression to quantify the cantilever deflection/surface stress and the film potential difference by combining the piezoelectric theory and Poisson-Boltzmann equation for electrolyte solution. This updated version indicates that the two linear correlations between surface stress and surface charge density or the bias voltage are not contradictory, but two aspects of one thing under different conditions. Based on Parsegian's mesoscopic interaction potential, a multiscale prediction for the piezoelectric coefficient of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) film is done, and the results show that the distinctive size effect with variations in salt concentration and nucleotide number provides us with an opportunity to obtain a more sensitive potential-actuated microcantilever sensor by careful control of packing conditions.

A multi-scale model for the analysis of the inhomogeneity of elastic properties of DNA biofilm on microcantilevers.

In nanoscale diagnostic systems, inhomogeneity in near-surface systems and flexibility in biostructures greatly influence the mechanical/electrical/thermal properties of biosensors and resultant detection signals. This study focuses on inhomogeneity and flexibility of DNA biofilm and characterizes its local interactions and mechanical properties. First, a flexible cylinder model of DNA chain is employed to capture the local geometric deformation characteristics of DNA molecules on microcantilever. In order to describe the inhomogeneous properties of DNA biofilm at thickness direction, the Strey's empirical formula for mesoscopic DNA liquid crystal theory is improved with the assumption of a net charge distribution in film. The model parameters are obtained by curve fitting with experimental data. Second, the biaxial iso-strain compression of thought experiment and the energy conservation law are used to predict macroscopic effective tangent modulus of DNA biofilm in terms of nanoscopic properties of dsDNA, buffer salt concentration.

Mechanical properties of DNA biofilms adsorbed on microcantilevers in label-free biodetections.

Biomolecule adsorption is a fundamental process in the design of biosensors. Mechanical/electrical/thermal properties of biofilms have great influences on biodetection signals. The double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) biofilm adhered on microcantilever is treated as a bending beam with a macroscopic elastic modulus in the viewpoint of continuum mechanics. Accounting for hydration force, electrostatic repulsion and conformational entropy, moment-angle diagrams of dsDNA biofilm in pure bending state are depicted with the help of the energy conservation law and a mesoscopic liquid crystal theory presented by Strey et al. An analytical model is provided to predict macroscopic elastic modulus of dsDNA biofilm as a function of nanoscopic properties of dsDNA, packing density, buffer salt concentration and etc. The parameters for microcantilever-DNA system are obtained by curve fitting with Stachowiak's experimental data based on a modified Stoney's formula. Elastic modulus grows exponentially with the enhancement of packaging density, but diminishes with the increase of buffer salt concentration, and its order is about 1 approximately 10 MPa. Conformational entropy is one of predominant factors considered in near-surface system whether in high or low salt consternation.