title: Microcantilever-based platforms as biosensing tools.
abstract: The fast and progressive growth of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields forces the development of new and powerful sensing techniques for process optimization and detection of biomolecules at very low concentrations. During the last years, the simplest MEMS structures, i.e. microcantilevers, have become an emerging and promising technology for biosensing applications, due to their small size, fast response, high sensitivity and their compatible integration into "lab-on-a-chip" devices. This article provides an overview of some of the most interesting bio-detections carried out during the last 2-3 years with the microcantilever-based platforms, which highlight the continuous expansion of this kind of sensor in the medical diagnosis field, reaching limits of detection at the single molecule level.
authors.affiliation: Nanobiosensors and Bioanalytical Applications Group, Research Center on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CIN2: CSIC-ICN) and CIBER-BBN, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Lechuga
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D036103:Nanotechnology; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011108:Polymers