On the road toward electronic biosensors

Summary form only received as follows: Recent advances in nanofabrication technology have allowed for access to length scales in the sub-20 nm regime. Since such length scales are compatible with many biological systems, including DNA and proteins, it is now possible to consider the integration of nanofabrication technology with molecular biology. Using electron-beam lithography and advanced resist technology, the author has fabricated electronic sensors on silicon that can detect and manipulate single biomolecules, i.e. DNA and proteins. Specifically, the author´s sensors consist of arrays of platinum nano-electrodes which form channels, 10 nm wide and several microns long, When individually voltage-biased, the nanoelectrodes can manipulate single molecules of DNA within a confined geometry. Via capacitance measurements, the nanoelectrodes can detect the presence of single molecules and ascertain their length by time-of-flight measurements. The electronic sensors the author has fabricated are first-generation. That they can already detect and manipulate single biomolecules-all on silicon-suggest that future devices will be truly hybrid in nature, serving many functions on both the molecular biology and electronic level