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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #342689
Research Project: Advanced Development of Innovative Technologies and Systematic Approaches to Foodborne Hazard Detection and Characterization for Improving Food Safety

Location: Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens

Title: Microcantilevers track single-cell mass

Author
item BASHIR, R - Purdue University

Submitted to: Nature Biotechnology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2016
Publication Date: 11/8/2016
Citation: Bashir, R. 2016. Microcantilevers track single-cell mass. Nature Biotechnology. 34(11):1125-1126.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Determining the mass of objects by weighing them has been an everyday practice that informs all manner of decisions. However, direct measurement of the mass of sub-microgram objects, especially in fluid, is still a technological grand challenge. Recent advances in microscale cantilever sensors have promise for determining the mass of small objects, such as cells in fluids. Further advancements could introduce mass in the biological sciences as a sensitive measure of cell growth and, more specifically, or protein or DNA synthesis. This information could lead to unprecedented insights into the bio-physical properties of cells, including how those properties relate to disease state or potentially pathogenicity and food safety.