Micro-cantilever Sensors for Detection of Pesticide Contents in the Water-table of Malwa Region in Punjab

Biosensors based on microcantilevers have become a promising tool for directly detecting biomolecular interactions with great accuracy. Microcantilevers translate molecular recognition of biomolecules into nanomechanical motion that is commonly coupled to an optical or piezoresistive read-out detector system. Biosensors based on cantilevers are a good example of how nanotechnology and biotechnology can go together. High-throughput platforms using arrays of cantilevers have been developed for simultaneous measurement and readout of hundreds of samples. As a result, many interesting applications have been develpoed and the first sensor platforms are getting commercialized. In this paper, we propose the application of Microcantilever sensor for the detection of pesticide contents in the water table of the Malwa region in Punjab (infamous as the cancer belt of the region) due to environmental toxicity following the excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers under the disguise of Green Revolution. The results concluded here can be applied in general to the various parts of India, where use of the pesticides is excessive and that is causing the adulteration of the water table. Keyword— Microcantilever, Biosensor, NEMS, Biomolecular interaction