Publication Date

2016-05-06

Availability

Open access

Embargo Period

2016-05-06

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PHD)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering (Engineering)

Date of Defense

2016-03-30

First Committee Member

Onur Tigli

Second Committee Member

Sung Jin Kim

Third Committee Member

Michael R. Wang

Fourth Committee Member

Mei-Ling Shyu

Fifth Committee Member

Tan A. Ince

Sixth Committee Member

Ram H. Datar

Abstract

The platform presented in this study exploits high frequency acoustic interaction and uses direct coupling of Rayleigh type SAWs with various samples placed inside microcavities to analyze their structural properties. The proposed microsystem was analyzed using finite element methods. Prototype devices were fabricated on quartz and lithium niobate in a cleanroom environment. Soft microprobes and microchannels were fabricated out of SU-8 and PDMS, respectively. Experimental results are given first for analysis of high glycerin content in deionized water as wells as counting and size differentiation of polystyrene microbeads. Ultimately, biological cells are sensed and characterized. After tumor cells in media are transported to and trapped in microcavities using soft microprobes, the proposed platform uses SAW interaction between the substrate and the cells to extract their mechanical stiffness based on the ultrasound velocity differentials. Small populations of various types of cells such as MCF7, MDA-MB-231, SKBR3, and JJ012 were characterized and characteristic moduli are estimated for each cell population. In conclusion, the results indicate that high frequency stiffness modulus is a possible biomarker for aggressiveness of the tumor and that microcavity coupled SAW devices are a good candidate for non-invasive interrogation and high frequency biophysical studies of single cells. The proposed system is a successfully miniaturized ultrasonic biosensor and can be integrated with microchannels to obtain higher throughput upon refinement of the design as evidenced by the initial results with microfluidics. Improvement in performance and signal strength is also shown to be possible through matching circuits as demonstrated.

Keywords

surface acoustic wave biosensors; rayleigh waves; microcavities; cancer research; single cell analysis

Download

Share

COinS