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Cavitand‐Grafted Silicon Microcantilevers as a Universal Probe for Illicit and Designer Drugs in Water |
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| Authors: | Dr Elisa Biavardi Dr Stefania Federici Dr Cristina Tudisco Dr Daniela Menozzi Dr Chiara Massera Andrea Sottini Prof Guglielmo G Condorelli Dr Paolo Bergese Prof Enrico Dalcanale |
| Affiliation: | 1. Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Parma and INSTM Udr Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17A, 43124 Parma (Italy);2. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Industriale, Laboratorio di Chimica per le Tecnologie, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia (Italy);3. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Catania and INSTM Udr Catania (Italy) |
| Abstract: | The direct, clean, and unbiased transduction of molecular recognition into a readable and reproducible response is the biggest challenge associated to the use of synthetic receptors in sensing. All possible solutions demand the mastering of molecular recognition at the solid–liquid interface as prerequisite. The socially relevant issue of screening amine‐based illicit and designer drugs is addressed by nanomechanical recognition at the silicon–water interface. The methylamino moieties of different drugs are all first recognized by a single cavitand receptor through a synergistic set of weak interactions. The peculiar recognition ability of the cavitand is then transferred with high fidelity and robustness on silicon microcantilevers and harnessed to realize a nanomechanical device for label‐free detection of these drugs in water. |
| Keywords: | cantilevers cavitands designer drugs illicit drugs molecular recognition |
