Development of Piezoelectric Immunosensor for the Detection of Probiotic Bacteria

A Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) based direct immunosensor was developed for real-time detection of probiotic bacteria. To optimize the immunosensor system, model measurements were carried out with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and anti-BSA IgG (a-BSA) antibody. During the model experiments, two kinds of self-assembled monolayers were created to compare their efficiency on antigen binding. Sulfosuccinimidyl 6-[3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionamido] hexanoate (sulfo-LC-SPDP) and 16-mercapto-hexadecanoic acid (MHDA) cross-linking agents were used for immobilizing anti-BSA antibody onto the gold surface of the AT-cut quartz wafer. Two different measuring procedures, flow-through and stopped-flow methods, were applied, and the frequency responses obtained by both analytical methods were compared.

After the model experiments probiotic bacteria, Bifidobacterium bifidum O1356 and Lactobacillus acidophilus O1132 serotypes were detected from buffer solution and from real samples (spiked milk samples, acidophilus, and bifidus milk samples).

Using the novel immunosensor, the target bacteria could be detected in the range of 10⁴–10⁷ colony-forming units (CFU)/ml within 60 minutes. The selectivity of a-Bifidobacterium bifidum and a-Lactobacillus acidophilus antibody coated sensors were also tested.     

Piezoelectric sensor based on electrospun PVDF-MWCNT-Cloisite 30B hybrid nanocomposites

Piezoelectric materials have attracted substantial interest in applications such as sensors and actuators. Ferroelectric and piezoelectric polymeric fibers doped with nanoparticles are made for use in nanoscale electronic devices. In this paper, we report on poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanocomposites doped with different ratios of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and Cloisite 30B (OMMT) nanoclay prepared by electrospinning technique. The effect of different ratios of OMMT and MWCNT nanofillers and potential synergistic effect of these fillers on the crystalline structure of PVDF and the performance of resulting piezo-device were studied. Results showed that OMMT increases beta phase crystals and piezoelectric properties of PVDF as compared with MWCNT. Meanwhile, MWCNT decreases impedance and increases dielectric constant of PVDF as compared with OMMT. The acoustic absorption behavior of PVDF/MWCNT/OMMT hybrid nanocomposite was also investigated. It was found that the sound absorption efficiency of PVDF/MWCNT/OMMT hybrid nanocomposites was increased compared with that of pure PVDF fibers and film. No synergistic effect of OMMT and MWCNT on the properties of PVDF was observed.     

Evaluation of the piezoelectric behaviour produced by a thick-film transducer using digital speckle pattern interferometry

This paper presents an interferometric measurement of the out-of-plane deflections produced by a piezoelectric transducer, manufactured by thick-film deposition of a ceramic paste over an alumina substrate, when is subjected to a DC electric voltage. It is shown that a digital speckle pattern interferometer with an incorporated phase-shifting facility allows the measurement of nanometer displacements generated by the piezoelectric device. These measurements are used to evaluate the effective piezoelectric charge constant along the polarization direction (d₃₃)_eff that characterizes the thick-film transducer.     

Longitudinal wave propagation in a piezoelectric nanoplate considering surface effects and nonlocal elasticity theory

The propagation characteristics of the longitudinal wave in a piezoelectric nanoplate were investigated in this study. The nonlocal elasticity theory was used and the surface effects were taken into account. In addition, the group velocity and phase velocity were derived and investigated, respectively. The dispersion relation was analyzed with different scale coefficients, wavenumbers, and voltages. The results showed that the dispersion degree can be strengthened by increasing the wavenumber and scale coefficient.     

Piezoelectric actuated multiple channels optical switch

In this article, a novel multi-channel optical switch that is composed of a Y-shaped micromirror with two symmetrically reflective surfaces, a fixed pivot for mounting the micromirror, and a piezoelectric actuator to actuate the micromirror, is proposed. Working principle of this novel device is that the switching displacement of the reflective beam of light can be linearly controlled by the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator. Accordingly, the 1×N switching task can be easily achieved. To realize the proposed concept, UV-LIGA technique was implemented to fabricate the components. Multiple-switching concept was demonstrated through experiments. Efficiency of the proposed optical switch was investigated by computer simulations. Optical efficiency of the proposed device can be optimized if its dimensions are adequately designed. Gou-Jen Wang received the B.S. degree on 1981 from National Taiwan University and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees on 1986 and 1991 from the University of California, Los Angeles, all in Mechanical Engineering. Following graduation, he joined the Dowty Aerospace Los Angeles as a system engineer from 1991 to 1992. Dr. Wang joined the Mechanical Engineering Department at the National Chung-Hsing University, Taiwan on 1992 as an Associate Professor and has become a Professor on 1999. Since 2003, he has been the Division Director of Curriculum of the Center of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. His research interests are MEMS, Biomedical Micro/Nano devices, Nano fabrication. Hong-Ru Liu received the B.S. and M.S. degrees on 2002 and 2004 from the National Chung-Hsing University, both in Mechanical Engineering.     

Investigation of scattering of elastic waves by cylinders in 1-3 piezocomposites

The scattering behavior of P-waves in piezoelectric composites with 1–3 connectivity is studied. The method of wave function expansion is adopted for the theoretical derivations. Analytical expressions are obtained for the distributions of mechanical displacement in z-direction along the circumferences of piezoelectric cylinders. These solutions are used to study the influence of each element of the stiffness matrix and the piezoelectric matrix on the various resonant modes of vibration. Numerical results obtained indicate that perturbations of the elements c₄₄ and e₁₅ significantly affect resonant frequencies and amplitudes, perturbations of c₁₁ and c₁₂ have pronounced effects on resonant modes of high frequencies also. However, the resonant modes are not so sensitive to the perturbations of c₁₃, e₃₁ and e₃₃. The dynamic characteristics of 1–3 connectivity piezoelectric composites exposed here are meaningful for the design and manufacture of sensor/actuator elements by this kind of composites as well as the on-line health monitoring of the mechanical properties variations of the composites itself.     

Stimulated Brillouin scattering in magnetized diffusive semiconductor plasmas

Using the hydrodynamical model and following the coupled mode approach, detailed analytical investigation of stimulated Brillouin scattering is performed in an electrostrictive semiconductor. The total induced current density including diffusion current density and the effective Brillouin susceptibility are obtained under off-resonant laser irradiation. The analysis deals with the qualitative behaviour of the Brillouin gain and transmitted intensity with respect to excess doping concentration and magnetic field. Efforts are directed towards optimizing the doping level and magnetic field to achieve maximum Brillouin gain at pump intensities far below the optical damage threshold level. It is found that by immersing a moderately doped semiconductor in a sufficiently strong magnetic field in transverse direction, one can achieve resonant enhancement of Brillouin gain provided the generated acoustic mode lies in the dispersionless regime.     

Measuring and predicting resolution in nanopositioning systems

The resolution is a critical performance metric of precision mechatronic systems such as nanopositioners and atomic force microscopes. However, there is not presently a strict definition for the measurement or reporting of this parameter. This article defines resolution as the smallest distance between two non-overlapping position commands. Methods are presented for simulating and predicting resolution in both the time and frequency domains. In order to simplify resolution measurement, a new technique is proposed which allows the resolution to be estimated from a measurement of the closed-loop actuator voltage. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the proposed techniques. The paper concludes by comparing the resolution benefits of new control schemes over standard output feedback techniques.     

Nonlinearity in inverse and transverse piezoelectric properties of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 film actuators under AC and DC applied voltages

The motion of domain walls is a crucial factor in piezoelectric properties and is usually related to the irreversible and hysteretic behaviors. Herein, we report on the investigation of inverse and transverse piezoelectric coefficients of capacitor-based and microcantilever-based Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ films with a change in the DC bias and the AC applied voltage. A large inverse piezoelectric strain coefficient of about 350 p.m./V, and a low strain hysteresis of about 7.1%, are achieved in the film capacitors under a low applied voltage of 2 V (20 kV/cm) which can benefit the actuators for motion control in high-precision systems. The field-dependences of the transverse piezoelectric coefficients, obtained from four-point bending and microcantilever displacement, are in good agreement with each other. The results also reveal that the irreversible domain-wall motion is attributed to the nonlinearity in the field-dependent piezoelectric strain and cantilever displacement.