Abstract: The present invention relates to integrated micro-cantilevers, micro-bridges or micro-membranes in micro-liquid handling systems. Such micro-liquid handling systems provide novel detection mechanisms for monitoring the physical, chemical and biological properties of fluids in such systems. The present invention further relates to micro-cantilever, micro-bridge or micro-membrane type sensors having integrated readout. Such constructions allow laminated flows of different liquids to flow in a channel without mixing, which opens up for new type of experiments and which reduces noise related to the liquid movement. The present invention even further relates to sensors having adjacent or very closely spaced micro-cantilevers, micro-bridges or micro-membranes which can be exposed to different chemical environments at the same time.

Abstract: A polymer-based flexible structure with integrated sensing/actuator means is presented. Conventionally, silicon has been used as a piezo-resistive material due to its high gauge factor and thereby high sensitivity to strain changes in a sensor. By using the fact that e.g. an SU-8 based polymer is much softer than silicon and that e.g. a gold resistor is easily incorporated in SU-8 based polymer structure it has been demonstrated that a SU-8 based cantilever sensor is almost as sensitive to stress changes as the silicon piezo-resistive cantilever.