A multi-scale model for the analysis of the inhomogeneity of elastic properties of DNA biofilm on microcantilevers

In nanoscale diagnostic systems, inhomogeneity in near-surface systems and flexibility in biostructures greatly influence the mechanical/electrical/thermal properties of biosensors and resultant detection signals. This study focuses on inhomogeneity and flexibility of DNA biofilm and characterizes its local interactions and mechanical properties. First, a flexible cylinder model of DNA chain is employed to capture the local geometric deformation characteristics of DNA molecules on microcantilever. In order to describe the inhomogeneous properties of DNA biofilm at thickness direction, the Strey's empirical formula for mesoscopic DNA liquid crystal theory is improved with the assumption of a net charge distribution in film. The model parameters are obtained by curve fitting with experimental data. Second, the biaxial iso-strain compression of thought experiment and the energy conservation law are used to predict macroscopic effective tangent modulus of DNA biofilm in terms of nanoscopic properties of dsDNA, buffer salt concentration. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.