Resonator for detecting single molecule binding

1. A method for measuring binding kinetics of an interaction between an analyte material in a fluid sample and a binding site for the analyte material, the method comprising:

contacting a sensing resonator with the fluid sample, wherein the sensing resonator comprises at least one binding site for the analyte material;

actuating the sensing resonator into an oscillating motion;

measuring an output signal representing resonance characteristics of the oscillating motion of the sensing resonator; and

detecting an individual binding event between the at least one binding site and a molecule of the analyte material to measure the binding kinetics of the interaction.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the individual binding event comprises detecting a frequency shift of the output signal of the sensing resonator.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein detecting the frequency shift of the output signal comprises:

determining a first frequency of the output signal of the sensing resonator prior to the individual binding event;

determining a second frequency of the output signal of the sensing resonator following the individual binding event; and

comparing the first frequency to the second frequency.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

contacting a reference resonator with the fluid sample, wherein the reference resonator is free of binding sites for the analyte material;

actuating the reference resonator into an oscillating motion; and

measuring an output signal representing resonance characteristics of the oscillating motion of the reference resonator.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising comparing the output signal of the sensing resonator to the output signal of the reference resonator.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensing resonator is a bulk acoustic wave resonator having a resonant frequency of at least 900 MHz and no greater than 10 GHz.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a binding rate of the analyte material.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining the binding rate comprises counting a number of individual binding events per unit time.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising determining a concentration of the analyte material based upon the binding rate of the analyte material.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensing resonator comprises a sufficiently small mass to detect the individual binding event.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensing resonator comprises an area that is small enough to provide a measurable frequency shift above a noise level due to the individual binding event.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the individual binding event is performed using a controller.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting the sensing resonator with the fluid sample comprises contacting an array of sensing resonators each comprising at least one binding site for the analyte material;

wherein actuating the sensing resonator comprises actuating each sensing resonator of the array of sensing resonators into an oscillating motion; and

wherein measuring the output signal comprises measuring an output signal of each sensing resonator of the array of sensing resonators that represents resonance characteristics of the oscillating motion of the respective sensing resonator.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein each sensing resonator of the array of sensing resonators is actuated at the same oscillation frequency.

15. A method for measuring binding kinetics of an interaction between an analyte material in a fluid sample and a binding site for the analyte material, the method comprising:

contacting a sensing resonator with the fluid sample, wherein the sensing resonator comprises at least one binding site for the analyte material, and wherein the sensing resonator comprises a sufficiently small mass to detect an individual binding event;

actuating the sensing resonator into an oscillating motion, using actuation circuitry;

measuring an output signal representing resonance characteristics of the oscillating motion of the sensing resonator, using measurement circuitry coupled to the sensing resonator; and

detecting the individual binding event between the at least one binding site and a molecule of the analyte material, using a controller coupled to the actuation and measurement circuitry, to measure the binding kinetics of the interaction.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein detecting the individual binding event comprises detecting a frequency shift of the output signal of the sensing resonator.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein detecting the frequency shift of the output signal comprises:

determining a first frequency of the output signal of the sensing resonator prior to the individual binding event;

determining a second frequency of the output signal of the sensing resonator following the individual binding event; and

comparing the first frequency to the second frequency.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein detecting the individual binding event comprises comparing the frequency shift of the output signal to a frequency shift threshold.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

contacting a reference resonator with the fluid sample, wherein the reference resonator is free of binding sites for the analyte material;

actuating the reference resonator into an oscillating motion;

measuring an output signal representing resonance characteristics of the oscillating motion of the reference resonator; and

comparing the output signal of the sensing resonator to the output signal of the reference resonator.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the sensing resonator is a bulk acoustic wave resonator having a resonant frequency of at least 900 MHz and no greater than 10 GHz.