Device can measure the distribution of tiny particles as they flow through a microfluidic channel.
A suspended microchannel resonator (SMR) measures particles' masses as they flow through a narrow channel. The original mass sensor consists of a fluid-filled microchannel etched in a tiny silicon cantilever that vibrates inside a vacuum cavity. As cells or particles flow through the channel, one at a time, their mass slightly alters the cantilever's vibration frequency. This illustration depicts a snapshot of a cantilever vibrating at its first four resonant modes. Image: Selim Olcum