US Patent 7208784 - SET for detecting biomolecules

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7208784.html

This patent from Quantum Logic Devices teaches single electron transistor structure including a nanoparticle with a binding agent designed for bio-molecule detection. Claim 1 reads:

1. A single-electron transistor comprising: a substrate having a projection that projects from a face thereof, wherein said projection includes a plurality of sides and a vertex; a first electrode on a first side of said projection and including a first electrode end that extends adjacent said vertex; a second electrode on a second side of said projection and including a second electrode end that extends adjacent said vertex and that is spaced apart from said first electrode end; at least one nanoparticle on said vertex, and an analyte-specific binding agent on a surface of said at least one nanoparticle to provide a chemically gated single-electron transistor, wherein said analyte-specific binding agent is a polynucleic acid selected from the group consisting of DNA, oligonucleotides, aptamer and RNA.