Inventors: Deevi SC, Tian F
Patent Title: Handheld microcantilever-based sensor for detecting tobacco-specific nitrosamines
Publication date: 2010
Publication number: US20100215544

Abstract: A method and system for detecting tobacco-specific nitrosamines. The method includes exposing at least one microcantilever beam to a medium, which may contain tobacco-specific nitrosamines, and measuring a deflection of the microcantilever beam, wherein the deflection indicates a presence of tobacco-specific nitrosamines in the medium. The at least one microcantilever beam can include a silicon base layer and a gold-coated receptor layer with a plurality of thiol molecules having a sulfur head and carboxyl-terminated group. The at least one microcantilever beam can include a silicon base layer and a metal or metal oxide coated receptor layer. Alternatively, the microcantilever beam can be formed by co-absorbing tobacco-specific nitrosamines and silane molecules on a silicon microcantilever surface, wherein the template molecules of tobacco-specific nitrosamines physically co-adsorb between the silane molecules. The template molecules of tobacco-specific nitrosamines are then washed away with a solvent to form a silane monolayer having tobacco-specific nitrosamine cavities.
URL: http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?DB=EPODOC&adjacent=true&locale=en_gb&FT=D&date=20100826&CC=US&NR=2010215544A1&KC=A1