Nanoscale Device Can Weigh a Single Molecule

DevotedSkeptic writes "Caltech scientists have created an ultra-sensitive device that can weigh an individual molecule for the first time. The device is invisible to the naked eye and vibrates at a specific frequency based on the molecule resting on top of its bridge like structure." More in the Caltech press release. This is an improvement on a design from 2009 that also could theoretically weigh a single molecule, but in practice could not because the position along the "bridge" affected the result. Now the researchers have figured out how to measure the position of the molecule on the bridge and compensate. The device is built using semiconductor fabrication techniques "...making it easy to mass-produce. That's crucial, since instruments that are efficient enough for doctors or biologists to use will need arrays of hundreds to tens of thousands of these bridges working in parallel. 'With the incorporation of the devices that are made by techniques for large-scale integration, we're well on our way to creating such instruments,' Roukes says. This new technology, the researchers say, will enable the development of a new generation of mass-spectrometry instruments." The full article is behind a paywall unfortunately.

Comments

This Tech Was Worth The Wait

[damn_registrars]

NanoElectroMechanicalSensor (NEMS) mass spec has been in development for some time, and will be worth the wait when it comes to be mature. This not only can weigh a single molecule, it also can dramatically outperform existing sensors when measuring the mass of very large molecules (think protein complexes, viruses, and so on). A lot of different groups - including one at Pacific Northwest National Labs and another at Cornell (on top of the CalTech group mentioned in this article)- have been working on this technology. The ability to further reduce the physical size (and power consumption) of a mass spec will also pay dividends for using mass spec for diagnostic applications.

Article might be available for free later

[damn_registrars]

The article didn't disclose who was funding the research, however there is a good chance it could have been funded at least in part by the NIH as they have a significant interest in this field. If they did help fund it, then the article will be available for free fairly soon (it isn't even indexed in pubmed yet).

Otherwise, just ask your favorite academic, or visit the library of your closest university. Most academic libraries have Nature Biotechnology included with their subscription to the regular journal Nature.