Sensor probe for bio-sensing and chemical-sensing applications

摘要

The basic structure and functionality of a probe as disclosed herein allows for flexibly incorporating into the probe, various sensing elements for various sensing applications. Two example applications among these various sensing applications include bio-sensing and chemical-sensing applications. For bio-sensing applications the probe, which is fabricated upon a silicon substrate, includes a bio-sensing element such as a nano-pillar transistor, and for chemical-sensing applications the probe includes a sensing element that has a functionalized contact area whereby the sensing element generates a voltage when exposed to one or more chemicals of interest.

主权项

1. A probe comprising:
a substrate that includes a major portion configured for placement of one or more processing components, and a first protruding portion extending from the major portion; and a first sensor array mounted upon a distal end of the first protruding portion, the first sensor array comprising at least one sensing element having a functionalized contact area adapted for detecting at least one of an extracellular field potential or an ionic field potential, wherein: the functionalized contact area is defined at least in part by one of a bulk ionic concentration or a size of a cellular specimen, the at least one sensing element comprises two or more sensing elements separated from each other by a separation distance that is defined at least in part by the size of the cellular specimen, and the size of the cellular specimen ranges from about 1 μm to about 5 μm in diameter.