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Biomems Devices Are Manufactured Using Similar Microfabrication Techniques

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BioMEMS devices are manufactured using similar microfabrication techniques as those used in semiconductor processing (such as photolithography, thin-film deposition and etching ) to produce the desired configuration of features, including traces (thin metal wires), vias (interlayer connections), reservoirs, valves, and membranes. The interest in BioMEMS is growing rapidly, with opportunities in areas such as biosensors, pacemakers, immunoisolation capsules, and drug delivery [31]. Microcantilever is one of the most widely studied bioMEMS in the area of biosensors. It converts surface-based biochemical interactions into mechanical signals. In particular, when biomolecules immobilized on the cantilever surface undergo intermolecular reactions, such as antibody-antigen interaction [32], hybridization of DNA interaction [33], receptor-ligand [34]; their conformational change causes a change in the surface stress on the cantilever due to reduction decrease in free energy. The deflection of the cantilever induced by the surface stress change provides a direct measure of the biomolecular interaction. For instance, the steady-state cantilever deflection can indicate the fraction of immobilized biomolecules that have bound to free analytes in solution, while the time to reach steady-state reflects the rate constant of the specific binding [35]. When one surface of the cantilever undergoes a surface stress change, the cantilever bends accordingly upward or downward depending on

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