It is well known that for precise biological cell injection the applied forces should be exactly controlled in any specific case. In this paper we present design, prototyping, calibration and testing of a microforce sensor, which fulfils the requirements for injection monitoring of biological cells. It is an axial all-silicon piezoresistive Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) device. The layout of the all-silicon force sensor is adapted for operation at partial dipping in biochemical solutions. A prototype of this sensor is investigated and its parameters are measured. To verify the applicability of the MEMS for bio-applications, it was used in force monitoring injection of Xenopus Oocyte cells. Force measurements during the injection process and interpretation of the force-penetration curve are presented and discussed. Thus, it has been experimentally proved that the developed all-silicon force sensor can be successfully applied for force monitoring in different bio-applications.

Date Published: 17 May 2013
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8763, Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VI, 87630Y (17 May 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2017368

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8763:
Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VI
Ulrich Schmid; José Luis Sánchez de Rojas Aldavero; Monika Leester-Schaedel, Editor(s)