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Monday, 20th July 2009 (1214 views)

A new mass spectrometer has been developed that is capable of calculating the mass of nanomechanical components, including gold nanoparticles.

The first such nanomechanical mass spectrometer in the world, the instrument is being developed by a team of scientists led by Michael Roukes, professor of physics, applied physics and bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology and co-director of the Kavli Nanoscience Institute.

It consists of a tiny silicon carbide bridge covered with a metallic layer, linking two larger silicon-based structures, according to separationsNOW.

The mass spectrometer works by relying on the fact that a thin strip of silicon is able to naturally vibrate at its resonant frequency. The tool has so far been successfully tested on gold nanoparticles and the bovine serum albumin protein.

Professor Roukes said: "The frequency of these devices precipitously jumps downward a small amount each time a protein molecule lands - is adsorbed - on the device."

He added that control electronics have been created to enable the frequency of the vibrations to be precisely monitored so that each molecule can be observed as it is adsorbed into the device.

In 2003, Los Alamos National Laboratory developed a new nanoscale spectroscopic technique that could be applied to the oscillations of electrons in individual gold nanoparticles, something that may be used in the ultrasensitive detection of chemical and biological molecules.

 

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