US Patent 8072226 - Electrode structure for nanosensor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8072226.html

This patent teaches a surrounding electrode configuration for a nanosensor which may simplify manufacture. Claim 1 reads:

1. A sensor comprising:

a substrate;

a first electrode disposed on the substrate;

a second electrode disposed on the substrate, the second electrode being spaced apart from the first electrode and circumscribing at least all sides along at least one axis of the first electrode; and

at least one nanostructure contacting the first electrode and the second electrode, the at least one nanostructure configured to vary an electrical characteristic according to an object to be sensed;

wherein the object to be sensed comprises a solution, a liquid, a gas, a molecule, a protein, a virus, a marker, an acid, an ion, an impurity, an electromagnetic radiation, or a particle, and wherein the electrical characteristic comprises a voltage, a current, a resistance or a conductance.