University of California, Riverside scientists have created an advanced prototype of a sensor in a simple piece of a glass tube. The sensor is engineered to measure volume, mass, and the density of microscopic biological samples of fluid.
Bioengineering professor Willam Grover and Doctoral student Shirin Mesbah Oskui from UC Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering published their findings in the journal of Plos One. They also described that the main purpose of making the sensor is to detect toxicity in chemicals which could be applicable in biology, plant sciences, and biomaterial engineering.
Measuring weight is one of the most important and fundamental processes in tiny biological samples and by using conventional scale it is just next to impossible in native liquid environments. To get a precise result, Oskui assembled the sensor inside the tube. Later she bent the tube in “U” shape and attached with a cheap sound speaker.
When the speaker turns on then it vibrates the U-tube in a specified frequency resonance according to the mass of the tube. As the sample pumped into the tube, the resonance frequency changes and allowed the sensor to calculate sample’s mass, volume, and density. To prove their sensor, researchers first applied a test on the field of toxicology.
There are o many chemicals that are dangerous for human health and traditional techniques are expensive and time-consuming. According to Phys, the introductory tests were performed on the tiny, fast-moving zebrafish. Until the present, it was impossible to measure the weight of their embryo in the native fluid environment.
Oskui said,“Zebrafish embryos are becoming an important toxicological model species.until now scientists have not been able to include a very simple measure of health in their panel of measurements”. The sensor also monitored the mass changes of embryos when they reacted with toxic silver nanoparticles. Oskul also explained that they are working on the same model to expand its application, so that they can help humans to protect their health and the environment.
