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【技术产业】使用超微纳米电极探测微环境
Microscale Environments Could Be Probed By Super Small Nanoelectrodes
Article Date: 14 Mar 2007 - 4:00 PDT
Investigating the composition and behavior of microscale environments, including those within living cells, could become easier and more precise with nanoelectrodes being developed at the University of Illinois.
"The individual nanotube-based probes can be used for electrochemical and biochemical sensing," said Min-Feng Yu, a U. of I. professor of mechanical science and engineering, and a researcher at the university's Beckman Institute. "The position of the nanoelectrodes can be controlled very accurately."
To fabricate the nanoelectrodes, Yu and graduate students Kyungsuk Yum, Jie Hu and Han Na Cho begin by attaching a strong, rigid, boron-nitride nanotube to a much larger, conductive probe. The nanotube will form the insulating core of the nanoelectrode.
The researchers then coat the nanotube with a thin film of gold about 10-50 nanometers thick (a nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter.) The gold layer is then coated with an insulating polymer coating about 10 nanometers thick. Lastly, the researchers use a focused ion beam to slice off the end of the nanotube, exposing a conducting ring of gold sandwiched between an insulating core and an insulating outer ring.
The process yields nanoelectrodes with a diameter of 100 nanometers, and a length of up to 30 microns.
Because the nanotube is attached to a much larger probe, the researchers can manipulate the nanotube like a needle. They can control precisely where the nanotube penetrates a cell, for example, and even pinpoint smaller cell structures, such as the nucleus or mitochondrion.
"Nanoelectrodes offer new opportunities for electrochemical sensing in intracellular environments," said Yu, who will describe the fabrication process and demonstrate the feasibility of nanoelectrodes at the March meeting of the American Physical Society, to be held in Denver, March 5-9. "By functionalizing the active area of the nanoelectrode with an appropriate chemical, we can target the detection of specific chemical species."
The researchers have demonstrated that their nanoelectrode can sense the chemical environment within a droplet 10 microns in diameter. Their next step is to show that the probe can penetrate the cellular membrane of a living cell, without damaging the cell. Microscale Environments Could Be Probed By Super Small Nanoelectrodes
使用超微纳米电极探测微环境
Article Date: 14 Mar 2007 - 4:00 PDT
发表日期：2007.3.14 4:00 太平洋白昼时间
Investigating the composition and behavior of microscale environments, including those within living cells, could become easier and more precise with nanoelectrodes being developed at the University of Illinois.
伊利诺大学正在研制的一种纳米电极能使研究微环境包括活细胞内的成分及活动更容易和精确。
"The individual nanotube-based probes can be used for electrochemical and biochemical sensing," said Min-Feng Yu, a U. of I. professor of mechanical science and engineering, and a researcher at the university's Beckman Institute. "The position of the nanoelectrodes can be controlled very accurately."
“这种特殊的纳米管探针可用于电化学和生物化学的传感，”机械科学与工程教授、贝克曼学院研究员Min-Feng Yu说，“纳米电极的位置可精确调控。”
To fabricate the nanoelectrodes, Yu and graduate students Kyungsuk Yum, Jie Hu and Han Na Cho begin by attaching a strong, rigid, boron-nitride nanotube to a much larger, conductive probe. The nanotube will form the insulating core of the nanoelectrode.
为了装配纳米电极，Yu和研究生Kyungsuk Yum、Jie Hu以及Han Na Cho首先将一个有力的坚硬的一氮化硼纳米管贴附到一个更大些的有传导性的探针上。纳米管将成为纳米电极的绝缘核心。
The researchers then coat the nanotube with a thin film of gold about 10-50 nanometers thick (a nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter.) The gold layer is then coated with an insulating polymer coating about 10 nanometers thick. Lastly, the researchers use a focused ion beam to slice off the end of the nanotube, exposing a conducting ring of gold sandwiched between an insulating core and an insulating outer ring.
研究人员然后在纳米管上铺上一层大约10-50纳米厚的金属薄膜（1纳米等于十亿分之一米）。金属层再用绝缘的10纳米厚的聚合物包被。最后研究人员用聚焦离子束切掉纳米管的末端，暴露出一个夹在绝缘内核和绝缘外环之间的可传导的金属环。
The process yields nanoelectrodes with a diameter of 100 nanometers, and a length of up to 30 microns.
这种工艺做出的纳米电极直径为100纳米，长度为30微米。
Because the nanotube is attached to a much larger probe, the researchers can manipulate the nanotube like a needle. They can control precisely where the nanotube penetrates a cell, for example, and even pinpoint smaller cell structures, such as the nucleus or mitochondrion.
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-02-13 05:14
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