SEMINAR:Engineering Micro/Nano Resonators for Environmental...

Guest: Selim Hanay, UNAM, Bilkent University

Title:  Engineering Micro/Nano Resonators for Environmental and Biologic Applications (PHYS, BIO, MAT)

Date/Time: November 6, 2024, 13:40

Location: FENS G035

Abstract: The design of sensor systems capable of functioning in ambient air or liquid media is highly sought after for label-free sensing in environmental and biological problems. Within this vision, I will outline various sensor platforms we have developed with micro/nanoscale resonators, using nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) and microwave technologies. Nanomechanical resonators can achieve mass resolution on the order of several MegaDaltons (MDa) under ambient conditions, enabling the characterization of single nanoparticles and viruses that are in the hundred-MDa mass range. However, transporting analytes to the nanoscale sensing region had remained a significant hurdle. With the integration of an ion lens on the NEMS chip [1], we demonstrated high-efficiency nanoparticle detection using the ‘self-focusing’ NEMS technology. We recently improved this technique with the use of devices featuring a central paddle-like collection area, which yields higher efficiency and requires simpler electronics [2]. While NEMS devices are sensitive to inertial mass changes, microwave resonators can probe the same analytes through their electrical polarizability. For detection of cells and nanoparticles in liquid, we have developed microwave sensors with micro/nanoscale sensing regions. I will give an overview of recent experiments, such as classifying materials based on permittivity at the microscale [3], detecting nanoparticles using a microwave nanopore [4], and more recently conducting drug-resistance tests on cancer cells. I will conclude by discussing potential trends for novel sensing scenarios, such as multi-physical sensing.

References:

[1] Erdogan, R. T et Al. (2022). ACS Nano, 2022, 16, 3, 3821–3833.

[2] Kaynak, B.E. et Al. (2023). Nano Letters, 2023, 23, 18, 8553–8559.

[3] Tefek, U. et Al. (2023). Advanced Materials, 2023, 35, 46, 2304072.

[4] Secme, A. et Al. (2024), ACS Omega, 2024, 9, 7, 7827–7834.

Bio: Selim Hanay holds a BS degree from the Microelectronics Engineering Program at Sabanci University, with a minor in Physics. He obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from Caltech in 2011, where he developed nanomechanical sensors capable of weighing single protein molecules in real time. He continued his research at Caltech, first as a post-doctoral fellow and then as a research engineer, for a total of two years before joining Bilkent University, Turkey, as an Assistant Professor in 2013. His current research focuses on the detection of viruses and nanoparticles using nanomechanical mass spectrometry under atmospheric conditions, microwave sensing of nanoparticles in microfluidic systems, and the development of deformable microfluidics for controlled cell transfection. He has received incentive awards from several national research organizations (Tübitak, Tüba, Bilim Akademisi) and the Distinguished Teaching Award of Bilkent University. He is also the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant and an ERC Proof-of-Concept Grant. From 2022 to 2024, he held a Visiting Associate position in the Physics Department at Caltech. He is currently an Associate Professor at Bilkent University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and is affiliated with UNAM–National Nanotechnology Research Center.