US Patent 7389679 - Micromechanical cantilever measurement cell with gas bubble absorption

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The change of resonance in micromechanical cantilevers is used to detect biological material in chemical cells however the presence of air bubbles sticking to the cantilever can disrupt this detection. This patent teaches providing a gas volume within the measurement cell to prevent such problems. Claim 1 reads:

1. A measurement cell for an arrangement for the analysis of liquids, comprising, integrated into a single cell:

at least one inlet and at least one outlet for the analyte liquid,

a gas volume for the absorption of gas bubbles present inside the analyte liquid, said gas volume being located within said single cell and sealed from the environment,

at least one micromechanical cantilever, which is at least partially located inside the measurement cell and is at least partially in contact with the analyte liquid.