CMOS magnetic cell manipulator and CMOS NMR biomolecular sensor

Silicon integrated circuits (ICs), which lie at the heart of today's computers, are emerging as powerful new tools for rapid and sensitive analysis of small biological objects, ranging from cells to proteins to viruses to DNA. At Harvard, I have worked in this area, specifically on two projects. One is to move cells using spatially patterned microscopic magnetic fields generated from a CMOS chip, which can be used for complex cell sorting operations. The other is to sense biomolecules using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR.) techniques implemented in a CMOS RF transceiver, which can potentially be used for a portable, early disease detection system, given its high sensitivity and small size. These two pieces of work comprise the present thesis. The first work is on a CMOS IC that can magnetically manipulate biological cells attached to magnetic beads. The IC contains a microcoil array circuit, which can produce spatially-patterned microscopic magnetic fields. Programmable, rapid reconfiguration of the field pattern made possible by the IC allows a simultaneous yet independent manipulation of a large number of individual bead-bound cells placed on top of the IC with tight position control. A microfluidic system fabricated on top of the IC chip is used to suspend the biological cells and maintains biocompatibility. This CMOS magnetic biological cell actuator can be used for complex cell sorting operations. It can also be used for new applications in systems biology, e.g., assembly of a microscale artificial tissue in two dimension, by bringing cells one by one into a desired geometry. In the second work, I have developed a CMOS mini-NMR relaxometry system, which can be used for biomolecular sensing. The system consisting of a small fist-size magnet, a microcoil, and a CMOS RF transceiver chip, is 40 times smaller (only 2500 cc), 60 times lighter (only 2 kg), and 60 times more sensitive (detection sensitivity down to 20 femto mole) than a widely-used, state-of-the-art, commercial benchtop NMR relaxometry system. The key to our success in this drastic miniaturization while achieving the high sensitivity lies in the CMOS integration of a highly sensitive and versatile RF transceiver, which makes possible overcoming the adverse environment created by the small magnet necessary for miniaturization. This CMOS mini-NMR relaxometry system measures the spin-spin relaxation time, or T 2 -time, of a given sample, and can be greatly utilized for biomolecular detection. Magnetic nanoparticles coated with specific antibodies are placed in a sample. If the sample contains target biomolecules (proteins, viruses, cell receptors) to which the specific antibodies can bind, the magnetic nanoparticles self-assemble into clusters. These clusters modulate the local magnetic fields, affecting the T 2 -time. Our CMOS NMR system detects biomolecules by monitoring the change in the T 2 -time. Highly sensitive detection of avidin and folic acid verifies the workings of our system. The size and sensitivity bode well for its use as a portable, low-cost, and medical diagnostic tool.