Abstract
A 3D rolled-up structure made of a SiO 2 layer and a fishbone-like magnetic thin film was proposed here as a biosensor. The magnetoresistance (MR) measurement results of the sensor suggest that the presence of the stray field, which is induced by the magnetic nanoparticles, significantly increased the switching field. Comparing the performance of the 2D sensor and 3D sensor designed in this study, the response in switching field variation was 12.14% in the 2D sensor and 62.55% in the 3D sensor. The response in MR ratio variation was 4.55% in the 2D sensor and 82.32% in the 3D sensor. In addition, the design of the 3D sensor structure also helped to attract and trap a single magnetic cell due to its stronger stray field compared with the 2D structure. The 3D magnetic biosensor designed here can provide important information for future biochip research and applications. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.