In this study, a carbon nanotube probe (CNT probe) is proposed as a mechanical force transducer for the measurement of pico-Newton (pN) order force in biological applications. In order to measure nantube's displacement in the air or liquid environment ,the fabrication of a CNT probe with tip-specific loading of fluorescent dyes is performed using tip-specific functionalization of the nanotube and chemical bonding between dyes and nanotube. Also, we experimentally investigated the mechanical properties of the CNT probe using electrostatic actuation and fluorescence microscope measurement. Using fluorescence measurement of the tip deflection according to the applied voltage, we optimized the bending stiffness of the CNT probe, therefore determined the spring constant of the CNT probe. The results show that the spring constant of CNT probes is as small as 1 pN/㎚ and CNT probes can be used to measure pN order force.
