SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR NANO-OPTO-MECHANICAL-FLUIDIC SENSING OF PARTICLES

• US 20170089819A1
• Filed: 09/28/2016
• Published: 03/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Inventors: Han, Kewen, Bahl, Gaurav
• Granted Patent: US 10,234,444 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/10 Investigating individual particles
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1023 Microstructural devices for non-optical measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1436 the optical arrangement forming an integrated apparatus with the sample container, e.g. a flow cell
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1459 the analysis being performed on a sample stream
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1484 microstructural devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2015/0038 Investigating nanoparticles
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2015/1021 Measuring mass of individual particles
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2015/1029 Particle size
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2015/1454 using phase shift or interference, e.g. for improving contrast
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/014 Resonance or resonant frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0256 Adsorption, desorption, surface mass change, e.g. on biosensors
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/022 Fluid sensors based on microsensors, e.g. quartz crystal-microbalance [QCM], surface acoustic wave [SAW] devices, tuning forks, cantilevers, flexural plate wave [FPW] devices microdevices per se B81B
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/036 by measuring frequency or resonance of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/487 of liquid biological material

Abstract

A system and method includes nano opto-mechanical-fluidic resonators (nano-resonators), e.g., for identification of particles, e.g., single viruses and/or cells.

Claims

1. A system comprising, comprising:

a nano-resonator including a channel configured for containing a liquid, where the liquid contains particles, the nano-resonator configured to simultaneously confine sound and light, where the light containment is positioned adjacent the channel; and

where the sound performs mechanical property sensing on the particles and the light performs position sensing of particles.

2. The system of claim 1, where the nano-resonator is configured to provide label free detection.

3. The system of claim 1, where the nano-resonator simultaneously detects a size and mass of the particles.

4. The system of claim 1, where the particles comprise at least one of viruses, large molecules, DNA and fragments from biological objects.

5. The system of claim 1, where the channel comprises a nanofluidic channel and the light is contained in a photonic crystal optical resonator.

6. The system of claim 5, where the nanofluidic channel comprises half a width of the resonator device and the photonic crystal optical resonator comprises half a width of the resonator device.

7. The system of claim 1, further including a mixture to suspend the particles.

8. The system of claim 1, where the particles comprise cells.

9. The system of claim 1, where the particles comprise at least one of micro-particles and nanoparticles.

10. The system of claim 1, where the position sensing reduces a uncertainty from the mechanical property sensing.

11. The system of claim 1, further including an optical fiber positioned adjacent the nano-resonator.

12. The system of claim 11, where the optical fiber is tapered.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising wavelength division multiplexers positioned on ends of the optical fiber.

14. The system of claim 11, further comprising a light source connected with one end of the optical fiber and a detector coupled with another end of the optical fiber.

15. The system of claim 14, where the light source comprises a laser.

16. The system of claim 1, where the nano-resonator further includes holes next to the channel to confine light next to the channel.

17. The system of claim 16, where the holes next to the channel function as a ruler.