Nanodevices for Single Cell and Single Molecule Detection

Microfabricated devices, manufactured in silicon, glass or plastic materials, have established a well known trend in the research for novel techniques and tools over the last two decades, resulting in a multitude of new opportunities for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics markets. The suitability of these devices for such applications has been extensively documented by universities and private laboratories alike. However, the idea of implementing such devices, frequently called lab-on-a-chips on microelectronic substrate has been introduced very recently in literature. In this paper it will be reviewed examples where micro- and nano-systems tailored for cellular and molecular biology are built to be interfaced with integrated electronics technology emphasizing the breakthroughs of this approach along with their challenges and limitations. More specifically, applications and challenges of the lab-on-a-chips developed by Silicon Biosystems and University of Bologna for single cell and single molecule detection will be shown.