The magnetostrictive microcantilever (MSMC) as a high-performance transducer was introduced for the development of biosensors. The principle and characterization of MSMC are presented. The MSMC is wireless and can be easily actuated and sensed using magnetic field/signal. More importantly, the MSMC exhibits a high Q value and works well in liquid. The resonance behavior of MSMC is characterized in air at different pressures and in different liquids, respectively. It is found that the Q value of the MSMC in water reaches about 40. Although the density and viscosity of the surrounding media affect the resonance frequency and the Q value of MSMC, the density has a stronger influence on the resonance frequency and the viscosity has a stronger influence on the Q value, which result in that, for MSMC in air at pressure of less than 100 Pa, the resonance frequency of MSMC is almost independent of the pressure, while the Q value increases with decreasing pressure. MSMC array was developed and characterized. It is experimentally demonstrated that the characterization of an MSMC array is as simple as the characterization of a single MSMC. A filamentous phage against Salmonella typhimurium was utilized as bio-recognition unit to develop an MSMC based biosensor. The detection of S. typhimurium in water demonstrated that the MSMC works well in liquid.
Keywords: Salmonella typhimurium.; biosensor; magnetostrictive microcantilever; resonant frequency.