Ziel
A system of fabrication and nondestructive analysis for materials with biocompatible properties and bioelectronic properties is to be developed. This encompassed the novel technique of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and the still developing technique of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Use of both techniques for biomaterials will be an essential feature in competitive product development. The project will use commercial STM and develop an AFM. The possibility of submicron imaging of biomaterials reveals that few real methods of controlling biological molecule deposition on/in polymers exist. Filling this gap would have a wide range of implications for biocompatible materials and bioelectronic materials. Semiconductor photolithography and electron beam lithography are to be used to pattern molecular attachment. Surface images will be obtained by conventional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical techniques and compared with the new STM and AFM techniques. Encapsulation of biological molecules in stable materials is also critical and enzymes will be deposited within conducting polymers for conventional electronic characterisation and submicron imaging.
The STM has been installed and tested satisfactorily on surfaces of known topography such as pyrolitic graphite and gold coated, holographic gratings. Biological molecules have also been imaged including biotin, avidin, ferritin, troponic-c and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). New immobilisation methods are being developed to overcome the difficulties of binding these molecules to graphite for imaging. A prototype AFM has been built and tested and design refinements are currently in progress.
Photolithographic patterning techniques for cleanroom preparation of micrometre scale patterns of proteins are complete and nanolithography techniques are in development. Conducting polymer imaging in STM is being carried out and the polymers are also being deposited on microelectrode arrays in the presence of protei ns to provide multianalyte, miniaturised biosensors.
Preliminary evidence suggests that an atomic force microscope (AFM) operating in water is the instrument of choice for biological molecules, and the ability to image molecules without the use of preparative techniques should make this instrument very valuable.
Force friction images provide a map of the friction forces exerted between tip and the substrate during the scanning, giving useful additional information on the different types of materials present in a sample. Techniques have been developed for the routine patterning of proteins on a variety of surfaces which are versatile and possess accuracy of photolithographic techniques. They can give patterns with resolution down to 1 um. These are being used to provide an internal reference system for samples examined by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and AFM, and to pattern the growth of nerve cells in culture. These patterning techniques are ready for commercial exploitation and could have a variety of applications, particularly those in which 'interfacing' to a biological molecule is important. Examples are the fabrication of micrometre scale biosensors where the accurate location of proteins close to electrodes should be vital; the design of devices which utilize molecular electronics, which require accurate placement of the molecules.
A system of fabrication and non-destructive analysis for materials with biocompatible/bioelectronic properties is to be developed. This encompassed the novel technique of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and the still developing technique of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Use of both techniques for biomaterials will be an essential feature in competitive product development. The project will use commercial STM and develop an AFM. The possibility of submicron imaging of biomaterials reveals that few real methods of controlling biological molecule deposition on/in polymers exist.
Filling this gap would have a wide range of implications for biocompatible and bioelectronic materials. Semiconductor photolithography and electron beam lithography are to be used to pattern molecular attachment. Surface images will be obtained by conventional SEM and optical techniques and compared with the new STM and AFM techniques. Encapsulation of biological molecules in stable materials is also critical and enzymes will be deposited within conducting polymers for conventional electronic characterisation and submicron imaging.
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G12 8LT GLASGOW
Vereinigtes Königreich