Nanowell-array surfaces prepared by argon plasma etching through a nanopore alumina mask.

A method for preparing a glass surface containing an ordered array of nanowells is described. These nanowell arrays are prepared via a plasma-etch method using a nanopore alumina film as the etch mask. A replica of the pore structure of the alumina mask is etched into the glass. We demonstrate that chemical information in the form of negatively charged latex nanoparticles can be selectively stored within these nanowells and not indiscriminately deposited on the surface surrounding the nanowells. To accomplish this, the chemistry of the glass surfaces within these nanowells (walls and bottoms) must be different from the chemistry of the surface surrounding the nanowells. Two different procedures were developed to make the inside vs. surrounding surface chemistries different. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to image the nanowells and, via friction-force measurements, to prove that the inner nanowell surfaces can be made chemically different from the surface surrounding the nanowells.

Conical nanopore membranes. Preparation and transport properties.

We have been investigating applications of nanopore membranes in analytical chemistry-specifically in membrane-based bioseparations, in electroanalytical chemistry, and in the development of new approaches to biosensor design. Membranes that have conically shaped pores (as opposed to the more conventional cylindrical shape) may offer some advantages for these applications. We describe here a simple plasma-etch method that converts cylindrical nanopores in track-etched polymeric membranes into conically shaped pores. This method allows for control of the shape of the resulting conical nanopores. For example, the plasma-etched pores may be cylindrical through most of the membrane thickness blossoming into cones at one face of the membrane (trumpet-shaped), or they may be nearly perfect cones. The key advantage of the conical pore shape is a dramatic enhancement in the rate of transport through the membrane, relative to an analogous cylindrical pore membrane. We demonstrate this here by measuring the ionic resistances of the plasma-etched conical pore membranes.

Smart nanotubes for bioseparations and biocatalysis.

Tube-shaped nanostructures (nanotubes) have a number of attributes that make them potentially useful for biomedical applications such as drug delivery/detoxification and enzyme immobilization. Template synthesis provides a route for preparing monodisperse nanotubes of nearly any size and composed of nearly any material. We show here that template-synthesized silica nanotubes can be biochemically functionalized such that they act as biocatalysts and highly selective nano-phase extraction agents for bioseparations. For example, nanotubes containing an enantioselective antibody selectively extract the enantiomer of a drug molecule that binds to the antibody, relative to the enantiomer that has no specific interaction with the antibody. Nanotubes containing the enzyme glucose oxidase function as nanophase bioreactors to catalyze the oxidation of glucose.