References

 

Abstracts on applications of nanodiamonds:

 

Applications of Nanodiamonds for Separation and Purification of Proteins. V. S. Bondar', I. O. Pozdnyakova, and A. P. Puzyr' Phys. Solid State 46(4) 758 (01 Apr 2004)
 

Abstract       Recombinant apoobelin and recombinant luciferase are separated from bacterial cells of Escherichia coli with the use of detonation nanodiamonds. The application of nanodiamonds has a number of points in its favor, namely, (i) simplifies the procedures for purifying the proteins, (ii) decreases the time of their separation to 30–40 min, (iii) eliminates the necessity of using special chromatographic equipment, and (iv) makes it possible to prepare high-purity apoobelin and luciferase materials with protein yields of 35–45 and 45–60%, respectively. The possible mechanisms of interaction of protein molecules and nanodiamond particles are analyzed. ©2004 MAIK "Nauka / Interperiodica".

Design of a Luminescent Biochip with Nanodiamonds and Bacterial Luciferase. A. P. Puzyr', I. O. Pozdnyakova, and V. S. Bondar' Phys. Solid State 46(4) 761 (01 Apr 2004)
 

Abstract       An "aluminum oxide film–adhesive layer–nanodiamond–luciferase" supramolecular structure is prepared on a flat plate. It is demonstrated that, in this structure, the enzyme retains the catalytic activity. The structure prepared can be treated as a luminescent biochip prototype for use in bioluminescent analysis. ©2004 MAIK "Nauka / Interperiodica".

Nanodiamonds for Biological Investigations. V. S. Bondar' and A. P. Puzyr' Phys. Solid State 46(4) 716 (01 Apr 2004)
 

Abstract       Nanoparticles with a modified surface are prepared from nanodiamonds produced in Russia. The properties of modified nanodiamonds and their hydrosols and organosols are investigated by biophysicists with the aim of preparing nanoparticles with controlled properties for solving biological problems. ©2004 MAIK "Nauka / Interperiodica".

Single virus particle mass detection using microresonators with nanoscale thickness. A. Gupta, D. Akin, and R. Bashir Appl. Phys. Lett. 84(11) 1976 (15 Mar 2004)
 

Abstract       In this letter, we present the microfabrication and application of arrays of silicon cantilever beams as microresonator sensors with nanoscale thickness to detect the mass of individual virus particles. The dimensions of the fabricated cantilever beams were in the range of 4–5 µm in length, 1–2 µm in width and 20–30 nm in thickness. The virus particles we used in the study were vaccinia virus, which is a member of the Poxviridae family and forms the basis of the smallpox vaccine. The frequency spectra of the cantilever beams, due to thermal and ambient noise, were measured using a laser Doppler vibrometer under ambient conditions. The change in resonant frequency as a function of the virus particle mass binding on the cantilever beam surface forms the basis of the detection scheme. We have demonstrated the detection of a single vaccinia virus particle with an average mass of 9.5 fg. These devices can be very useful as components of biosensors for the detection of airborne virus particles. ©2004 American Institute of Physics.

Photothermal detection of local thermal effects during selective nanophotothermolysis. Vladimir P. Zharov, Valentin Galitovsky, and Mark Viegas Appl. Phys. Lett. 83(24) 4897 (15 Dec 2003)
 

Abstract       Photothermal (PT) technique was applied to the detection of laser-induced local thermal effects around absorbing nanoparticles into cells. The experiments demonstrated the capability of this technique for studying the threshold and the dynamic of thermal events around even a single particle in a broad temperature range, including monitoring of microbubble dynamic. PT technique shows promise for optimizing cancer-cell killing by incorporation of gold nanoparticles into the cells (selective "nanophotothermolysis"), as verified by electron microscopy and conventional viability tests. ©2003 American Institute of Physics.

Synthesis of colloidal nanoparticles during femtosecond laser ablation of gold in water. A. V. Kabashin and M. Meunier J. Appl. Phys. 94(12) 7941 (15 Dec 2003)
 

Abstract       Femtosecond laser radiation has been used to ablate a gold target in pure deionized water to produce colloidal gold nanoparticles. We report evidence for two different mechanisms of material ablation in the liquid environment, whose relative contributions determine the size distribution of the produced particles. The first mechanism, associated with thermal-free femtosecond ablation, manifests itself at relatively low laser fluences F<400 J/cm2 and leads to very small (3–10 nm) and almost monodispersed gold colloids. The second one, attributed to the plasma-induced heating and ablation of the target, takes place at high fluences and gives rise to a much larger particle size and broad size distribution. The fabricated nanoparticles exhibit plasmon-related optical absorption peak and are of significance for biosensing applications. ©2003 American Institute of Physics.

Nanofluidic channels with elliptical cross sections formed using a nonlithographic process. David A. Czaplewski, Jun Kameoka, Robert Mathers, Geoffrey W. Coates, and H. G. Craighead Appl. Phys. Lett. 83(23) 4836 (08 Dec 2003)
 

Abstract       We fabricated nanofluidic channels that have elliptical cross sections with major and minor radii of less than 100 nm, without the use of electron-beam or other high-resolution lithography. The channels were formed by thermal removal of sacrificial polymer nanofibers. The sacrificial template fiber was deposited on a target substrate by electrospinning and encapsulated by a spin-on glass. The elliptical shape of the channels eliminates sharp corners, at which fluid flow is hindered, and provides convenient boundary conditions for theoretical modeling of fluid flow in the channels. Also, the spin-on glass is optically transparent and compatible with chemical analysis, thereby opening up application in biomolecular separation and single molecule analysis. Hundreds of parallel channels have also been formed by the oriented spinning process. ©2003 American Institute of Physics.

Integrated nanoscale silicon sensors using top-down fabrication. O. H. Elibol, D. Morisette, D. Akin, J. P. Denton, and R. Bashir Appl. Phys. Lett. 83(22) 4613 (01 Dec 2003)
 

Abstract       Semiconductor device-based sensing of chemical and biological entities has been demonstrated through the use of micro- and nanoscale field-effect devices and close variants. Although carbon nanotubes and silicon nanowires have been demonstrated as single molecule biosensors, the fabrication methods that have been used for creating these devices are typically not compatible with modern semiconductor manufacturing techniques and their large scale integration is problematic. These shortcomings are addressed by recent advancements in microelectronic fabrication techniques which resulted in the realization of nanowire-like structures. Here we report a method to fabricate silicon nanowires at precise locations using such techniques. Our method allows for the realization of truly integrated sensors capable of production of dense arrays. Sensitivity of these devices to changes in the ambient gas composition is also shown. ©2003 American Institute of Physics.

The Integrated Detection of Hazardous Materials. David S. Koltick AIP Conf. Proc. 680(1) 835 (26 Aug 2003)

Abstract       The goal of this research effort is to combine a number of high quality detection techniques together in order to identify hazardous materials. These techniques include (1) elemental analysis for hazardous materials using neutron interrogation and gamma ray spectrum analysis techniques as well as associated -particle imaging techniques, (2) ion mobility using new miniaturized instrumentation in simple ion trap instruments, (3) point-of-need chemical analysis systems for analyses in aqueous systems using antibody arrays on micro-chips, (4) micro-sensors using advanced scanning probe microscope (SPM) technique on gold and silicon surfaces coated with antibodies and antigen in both dry and aqueous environments. The combination of several of these techniques into a single decision process gives broad response capability with a reduction in false signals. ©2003 American Institute of Physics

DNA size separation using artificially nanostructured matrix. M. Baba, T. Sano, N. Iguchi, K. Iida, T. Sakamoto, and H. Kawaura Appl. Phys. Lett. 83(7) 1468 (18 Aug 2003)
 

Abstract       We have demonstrated two types of size separation of biomolecules using a nanostructured matrix artificially fabricated using electron-beam lithography: sieve-type separation using a regular pillar array structure and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) type separation using a structure with narrow and wide gaps. With these devices, samples of double-stranded DNA molecules (2, 5, and 10 k base pairs) were clearly separated into bands; smaller molecules eluted earlier in the sieve type while they eluted later in the SEC type. The nanostructured matrix enables various types of molecular separation by changing the design of the nanostructure. Moreover, it should be easy to integrate the matrix with other biomolecular fluidic devices because it does not require a filling medium. ©2003 American Institute of Physics.

Protein printing with an atomic force sensing nanofountainpen. Hesham Taha, Robert S. Marks, Levi A. Gheber, Ittay Rousso, John Newman, Chaim Sukenik, and Aaron Lewis Appl. Phys. Lett. 83(5) 1041 (04 Aug 2003)

Abstract
      We demonstrate the direct printing of proteins on a surface using a cantilevered nanopipette as the probe of a scanned probe microscope. Protein features as small as ~200 nm were directly delivered through the ~100 nm aperture of the nanopipette by simply contacting the probe with any surface. This allows for the direct connection of this methodology to standard separation techniques so that multiple proteins can be printed through one nanopipette at different locations in ambient conditions. ©2003 American Institute of Physics.


Nanopore sequencing of polynucleotides assisted by a rotating electric field. C.-M. Chen and E.-H. Peng Appl. Phys. Lett. 82(8) 1308 (24 Feb 2003)
 

Abstract       The translocation kinetics of a polynucleotide chain through a nanopore is studied using Monte-Carlo simulations for both lattice and off-lattice models, by which we demonstrate a method in sequencing polynucleotides assisted by a rotating electric field. At low frequencies of the rotating field, the translocation time of the chain is inversely proportional to the rotating field frequency. More specifically, in these cases, the translocation time of each nucleotide is nearly quantized, and thus it greatly improves the resolution of blockade-current time series obtained from nanopore sequencing experiments. The polynucleotide sequences can be accurately determined from analyzing several time series of current variation through the nanopore. ©2003 American Institute of Physics.