Transducer-based sensor system and method
First Claim
1. A method of performing rupture event scanning, comprising:
- providing a transducer with an immobilized binding partner material and a sample material disposed thereon, where the sample material is applied to the immobilized binding partner material so that, if the sample material includes components having sufficient affinity for the immobilized binding partner material, bonds will form between at least some of such components and the immobilized binding partner material;
accelerating the transducer to induce bond breakage, where such accelerating is performed by applying a drive signal to the transducer, the drive signal including a waveform having multiple frequency components that are pre-selected based on expected resonance behavior of the transducer; and
analyzing an output response of the transducer in response to application of the drive signal.
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Abstract
A system and method for performing rupture event scanning and other sensing operations on a sample. The method includes providing a transducer with an immobilized binding partner material and a sample material disposed thereon. The sample material is applied to the immobilized binding partner material so that, if components in the sample material have sufficient affinity for the immobilized binding partner material, bonds will form between at least some of such components and the immobilized binding partner material. The method further includes accelerating the transducer to induce bond breakage, where such accelerating is performed by applying a drive signal to the transducer. The drive signal includes a waveform having multiple frequency components that are pre-selected based on expected resonance behavior of the transducer. The method may also include analyzing an output response of the transducer in response to application of the drive signal.
26 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method of performing rupture event scanning, comprising:
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providing a transducer with an immobilized binding partner material and a sample material disposed thereon, where the sample material is applied to the immobilized binding partner material so that, if the sample material includes components having sufficient affinity for the immobilized binding partner material, bonds will form between at least some of such components and the immobilized binding partner material; accelerating the transducer to induce bond breakage, where such accelerating is performed by applying a drive signal to the transducer, the drive signal including a waveform having multiple frequency components that are pre-selected based on expected resonance behavior of the transducer; and analyzing an output response of the transducer in response to application of the drive signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of performing rupture event scanning, comprising:
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providing a transducer with an immobilized binding partner material and a sample material disposed thereon; mechanically exciting the transducer at different energy levels; obtaining an output response of the transducer for each of the different energy levels; screening each of the output responses for rupture indicators suggestive of a potential rupture event occurring between the immobilized binding partner material and the sample material; and performing further processing on at least one of the output responses after said screening, where such further processing includes determining whether the output response contains a known acoustic signature associated with breakage of a known bond, and where such further processing is performed for the output response only if the output response contains a rupture indicator. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A transducer-based sensor system for detecting whether a sample material contains a particular component, comprising:
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a controller; and a transducer operatively coupled with the controller, the transducer being configured to receive an immobilized binding partner material and the sample material on a surface of the transducer, where the sample material is brought into contact with the immobilized binding partner material so as to induce formation of a bond between the immobilized binding partner and the particular component, if the particular component is present within the sample material, where the controller is configured to; apply a drive signal to the transducer to mechanically excite the transducer and thereby potentially cause bond breakage, the drive signal including a waveform having multiple frequency components that are pre-selected based on expected resonance behavior of the transducer; receive an output response of the transducer in response to application of the drive signal; and analyze the output response to determine whether application of the drive signal induced bond breakage between the sample material and the immobilized binding partner material. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A transducer-based sensor system for analyzing a sample material, comprising:
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transducer means for receiving an immobilized binding partner material and the sample material, the sample material being placed into contact with the immobilized binding partner material; drive signal means for mechanically exciting the transducer means, the drive signal means being configured to apply a drive signal to the transducer means, the drive signal including a waveform having multiple frequency components that are pre-selected based on expected resonance behavior of the transducer means; and
output processing means for determining whether predetermined bonds existed between the sample material and the immobilized binding partner material, where such determination is performed by processing an output response of the transducer means to determine whether such output response contains an acoustic signature associated with breakage of the predetermined bands.
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Specification