US Patent 7052588 - Nanotube Sensor Using Biotin

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7052588.pdf

Nanotubes have developed some interest in the biosensing area. This particular patent uses biotin (a B vitamin with high affinity bonding for some proteins) in the sensing. The singularly presented claim reads:

1. A bio-molecule sensor comprising: a substrate; a nanotube having first and second ends disposed on the substrate; and a pair of electrodes disposed on the substrate, each electrode contacting an end of the nanotube, one electrode comprising a surface layer including a molecule with an affinity for the bio-molecule, wherein the surface layer includes biotin.

I am somewhat skeptical of this claim but the earliest reference I could find using biotin in nanotube sensors has a priority of January 10, 2003 (by different inventors, see link) while the patent has priority to November 27, 2002.

http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/nalefd/2003/3/i04/abs/nl0340172.html