Technology

Matrix Sensors’ technology builds on the proven microchip-based array technology, originally developed at Stanford University. The sensor array consists of thousands of cells, each incorporating a thin membrane separating an enclosed cavity from the outside. Each membrane is connected to an electronic circuit capable of detecting minute mass changes by measuring the change of the membrane’s resonance frequency, Application of a thin layer of specific organic materials to the array of sensor elements will transform each mass sensor into a molecular detector sensitive to the mass shift associated with a binding event. Since the array contains multiple sensor areas, a large number of different target/acceptor combinations can be incorporated onto a single chip enabling a multiplexed analysis of analytes of interest and/or of the ability to “fingerprint” an unknown substance with great precision and accuracy. Essentially, a Matrix Sensor is a functionalized surface comprising thousands of microbalances that measure the mass of a captured molecule. Since the measurement principle is based on direct mass detection, no reporters or labels are required and analyses are artifact-free and quantitative.

Matrix Sensors” technology platform integrates proven electronic detection methods and biological capture strategies to deploy a wide range of applications that will provide ultra sensitivity, superior performance, and ease-of-use for the detection of bio-molecules of interest in a label-free format.

Core Technology:
Capacitive Micro-machined Ultrasound Transducer (CMUT)

• Standard wafer based fabrication
• Oscillating membrane over cavity
• Membrane coated with reactive layer
• Reacting molecules bind and add mass
• Resonant frequency highly sensitive to mass

 Direct electronic mass detection

Figure 1. Diagram of Matrix Sensor 16-channel: microarray chip. Each hexagonal microdetector (“sensor pad”) is composed of a grouping of several hundred resonant cavities, or cells, sharing a single pair of electrical contacts. The isolation trenches (light green) are areas where bulk silicon is removed to reduce vibrational coupling between channels. The entire microarray chip, measuring approx. 3mm x 5mm, is mounted on a larger supporting structure for protection and ease of use.   back to top

Figure 2. Magnified images of a Matrix Sensors, Inc. CMUT sensor chip showing an individual microdetector “sensor pad” as viewed with an optical profiler: Left panel shows 20x magnification; the right panel shows a subsection of the sensor pad under 50x magnification. In inserts in the lower right corners are non-processed surface reflection images. The views shown in the upper left corners are color-processed to display heights and depths of the sensor pad surface and the individual silicon membrane-covered resonant cavities.

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