A Technology Overview and Applications of Bio-MEMS
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INSTITUTE OF SMART STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS (ISSS) JOURNAL OF ISSS J. ISSS Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 39-59, Sept. 2014. REVIEW ARTICLE A Technology Overview and Applications of Bio-MEMS Nidhi Maheshwari+, Gaurav Chatterjee+, V. Ramgopal Rao. Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India-400076. Corresponding Author: [email protected] + Both the authors have contributed equally. Keywords: Abstract Bio-MEMS, immobilization, Miniaturization of conventional technologies has long cantilever, micro-fabrication, been understood to have many benefits, like: lower cost of biosensor. production, lower form factor leading to portable applications, and lower power consumption. Micro/Nano fabrication has seen tremendous research and commercial activity in the past few decades buoyed by the silicon revolution. As an offset of the same fabrication platform, the Micro-electro-mechanical- systems (MEMS) technology was conceived to fabricate complex mechanical structures on a micro level. MEMS technology has generated considerable research interest recently, and has even led to some commercially successful applications. Almost every smart phone is now equipped with a MEMS accelerometer-gyroscope system. MEMS technology is now being used for realizing devices having biomedical applications. Such devices can be placed under a subset of MEMS called the Bio-MEMS (Biological MEMS). In this paper, a brief introduction to the Bio-MEMS technology and the current state of art applications is discussed. 1. Introduction Generally, the Bio-MEMS can be defined as any The interdisciplinary nature of the Bio-MEMS research is system or device, which is fabricated using the highlighted in Figure 2. This highlights the overlapping of micro-nano fabrication technology, and used many different scientific disciplines, and the need for a healthy for biomedical applications such as diagnostics, collaborative effort. therapeutics, drug delivery or real time monitoring Bashir (2004). Any Bio-MEMS device can be broken down to two primary aspects, the sensor/actuator and the system (Figure 1). Figure 2: Interdisciplinary approach towards the Bio-MEMS Figure 1: Basic system architecture of a biosensor. realization. Available online at: www.isssonline.in/journal/03paper12.pdf. 39 A TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW & APPLICATIONS OF BIO-MEMS The population explosion in the past three decades, applications are not discussed in this paper. However, especially in the developing countries has put a severe readers are encouraged to refer to the associated strain on the medical infrastructure of individual references. Also, the certification processes involved, countries. Under such circumstances, a point of care which vary in different countries, are outside the scope rapid diagnostic solution is highly sought after. But of this paper. the reduction in form factor of the sensor must not compromise on the sensitivity and accuracy of the 2. Materials and Fabrication Technology system. Recent advances in MEMS technology have given researchers the ideal platform to conceptualise MEMS/Bio-MEMS devices can be realized from and develop miniaturised sensors, which are equally a variety of materials, which can be grouped as : sensitive and accurate when compared to a traditional a) inorganic materials like silicon and glass, which lab based diagnostic approach. In addition to the have traditionally been used in the microelectronics portability advantage, another direct outcome of MEMS fabrication, b) organic materials which include polymers is the ability to batch fabricate, driving the costs of these like SU-8, PMMA, PDMS etc. and c) biomaterials sensors to very low levels. These sensors, when coupled like DNA, RNA and proteins which are utilized as with adequate electronics, provide a very affordable and biomimetic materials. an accurate diagnostic option, especially to countries lacking an adequate medical facility penetration. 2.1 Materials However, to research and develop a Bio-MEMS 2.1.1 Silicon and glass device, a coherent inter-disciplinary approach needs to be adopted. The chemistry and/or biotechnology Inorganic materials like silicon and glass are experts need to develop a highly specific bio-capture traditionally widely used materials, due to the existing strategy. This often depends on the bio-marker/ mature micromachining technology know-how. These protein structure. Then the engineering experts need materials also have good mechanical properties, which to devise a strategy for an efficient miniaturization of have been explored for the fabrication of devices like the transduction mechanism. The entire process flow cantilevers, accelerometers, beams etc. Glass and silicon also depends on the end use of the sensor owing to the MEMS devices can be easily integrated with electronics fact that the certification procedures of bio-sensors are on the same chip using the fabrication technology from highly critical, intensive and elaborate. The process gets IC industry. Additionally, glass is optically transparent, more complicated for invasive sensors. The materials allowing: sensitive optical detection, feasibility of chosen for invasive sensors need to be receptive to forming hermetically sealed devices due to a strong favourable biochemistry and at the same time must covalent bond formation, and a uniform and desirable be bio-compatible. In addition to the biocompatibility surface characteristic for fluidic devices. However, challenge, they need to be MRI compatible (with glass processing is expensive, time consuming and the exception of few critical technologies, like the complex. Owing to the amorphous nature of glass, wet heart pacemaker). Such stringent certification laws etching forms isotropic structures and DRIE is very pose a considerable challenge to the developers. The slow and limited in depth. Both glass and silicon are certification process also involves a lengthy and an fragile materials; thereby, limiting their large scale use intensive testing process. The entire procedure from as field devices and are; also, expensive for fabrication proof of concept to a commercial product usually takes so feasibility of disposable device formation cannot be more than a decade. fulfilled. The objective of this review is to give an introduction Newer materials, which can counter the limitations to some of the bio and electrical engineering solutions posed by silicon and glass, are highly desirable for the currently employed by researchers; to develop a bio- Bio-MEMS devices. Polymers are inexpensive, leading sensing device. An overview of the materials and MEMS to the feasibility of disposable devices fabrication. fabrication technology is provided. Various sensing and Polymers can exist in a variety of forms, like: glassy bio-capture methods are discussed. Some microfluidics state, hard, or soft/elastic state, which allows the solutions are also discussed. However, the Bio-MEMS formation of a variety of devices with arbitrary designs sensors have recently broadened their applications from and 3-D structures, a property not present in the only sensing to new innovative areas like minimally conventional silicon or glass substrates. Polymer based invasive surgery (Abushagur et al., 2014), therapeutics devices are less fragile and bio-compatible, which is (Desai et al., 2007) and drug delivery (Staples et al., an important criterion in case of prosthetics or in vivo 2006, Shawgo et al., 2002, Nuxoll, 2013). These new diagnostics or in vivo drug delivery systems. INSTITUTE OF SMART STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS (ISSS) 40 Maheshwari et al. Another important advantage of using polymeric bulk of the material. It is a viscoelastic polymer substrates is that their surface can be tailored as per [elastomer, with a molecular formula- (C2H6OSi)n]. It the device/measurement needs, or choice of polymer is a low cost material and is stable against humidity can be made from a plethora of polymers. Apart from variations. PDMS has attracted a lot of attention as a these properties, polymers also have a good chemical polymeric material for fabricating microfluidic devices stability, ease of fabrication, optical transparency, high in biological applications for a number of reasons: electrical insulation and good thermal properties, which reproducible features on the micrometer scale can be make them ideal for realizing the Bio-MEMS devices. produced with a high fidelity by cheaper fabrication They also enjoy the advantage of easy machining by routes, optical transparency down to 280nm, low non-photolithographic methods, leading to a decrease temperature polymerization, bio-compatible nature, in cost and complexity of processes. The use of these reversible deformation and self-sealing capability. It materials is expanding at a steady pace in commercial has a low interfacial energy, which prevents it from any devices fabrication, like: DNA or protein microarrays, unwanted reaction with the solution or other polymers. or electrophoretic chips. Among, a variety of polymers, The surface properties of PDMS can be readily tailored SU-8, PDMS, and PMMA have garnered a lot of by well proven surface modification protocols. In attention for the Bio-MEMS devices. addition, their permeability to oxygen and carbon dioxide make this material well suited for cell growth 2.1.2 SU-8 systems. SU-8 is an epoxy based photo-patternable negative PDMS in its native form is not well suited for resist, which has found a widespread use in MEMS/ micro-fluidic applications involving aqueous fluids: Bio-MEMS