NSF Award
8960202
This proposal seeks to explore the feasibility of developing a sensitive miniature differential thermometric biosensor device using thin polymer films (polyvinylidene fluoride or PVDF) displaying a pyroelectric response. By utilizing such techniques as photolithographic etching, electrochemical polymerization and microprocessor based data acquisition and analysis, the principal investigator anticipates constructing and evaluating a simple enzyme and immunochemical based biosensor device which is sensitive, quantitative and incorporating low cost fabrication techniques. A distinct advantage of a thermometric biosensor device is that a wide variety of analyses can be performed and the specificity determined by the choice of biological processes without the potential of interferences encountered by methods such as spectrophotometry or fluorometry. Further, unlike calorimetric techniques using thermistors or thermopiles, pyroelectric films can be fabricated to extremely close physical tolerances by simple means and operated in a differential mode, irrespective of the absolute temperature. In effect, it is proposed to evaluate techniques that can significantly improve upon and simplify the classical methods of thermometry and microcalorimetry.
