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.