Patent ID: 9551702
Date: 2017-01-24
CPC Classifications: G01N

Claim:
1. A method of monitoring one or more specified reactions in a fluid medium sample using a thermal and/or mechanical signature, said method comprising: providing at least one micro-cantilever sensor, said micro-cantilever sensor comprising at least two materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion, and having a heater and piezo-resistive sensor integrated therein; calibrating the at least one micro-cantilever response to thermal changes to form a calibrated micro-cantilever response characteristic; starting a specified reaction in the fluid medium sample; pulsing the heater with one or more electrical pulses to induce heat generation in the micro-cantilever sensor; biasing a controlled environment surrounding the at least one micro-cantilever sensor by heating the fluid medium sample to a predetermined temperature, by providing a constant Direct Current (DC) offset to the one or more electrical pukes supplied to the heater; sampling an output of the integrated piezo-resistive sensor to characterise a response of the micro-cantilever during the specified reaction in the fluid medium sample; and subtracting the calibrated micro-cantilever response characteristic from the sampled output to determine a characteristic of the one or more specified reactions in the fluid medium sample.