Evaluation of the single yeast cell's adhesion to ITO substrates with various surface energies via ESEM nanorobotic manipulation system

Cell-surface adhesion force is important for cell activities and the development of bio materials. In this paper, a method for in situ single cell (W303) adhesion force measurement was proposed based on nanorobotic manipulation system inside an environment scanning electron microscope (ESEM). An end effector was fabricated from a commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever by focused ion beam (FIB) etching. The spring constant of it was calibrated by nanomanipulation approach. Three kinds of hydrophilic and hydrophobic ITO plates were prepared by using VUV-irradiation and OTS coating techniques. The shear adhesion strength of the single yeast cell to each substrate was measured based on the deflection of the end effector. The results demonstrated that the cell adhesion force was larger under the wet condition in the ESEM environment than in the aqueous condition. It also showed that the cell adhesion force to hydrophilic surface was larger than that to the hydrophobic surface. Studies of single cell's adhesion on various plate surfaces and environments could give new insights into the tissue engineering and biological field.     

Methods for fabricating microarrays of motile bacteria

Motile bacterial cell microarrays were fabricated by attaching Escherichia coli K-12 cells onto predesigned 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid patterned microarrays, which were covalently functionalized with E. coli antibodies or poly-L-lysine. By utilizing 11-mercaptoundecyl-penta(ethylene glycol) or 11-mercapto-1-undecanol as passivating molecules, nonspecific binding of E. coli was significantly reduced. Microcontact printing and dip-pen nanolithography were used to prepare microarrays for bacterial adhesion, which was studied by optical fluorescence and atomic force microscopy. These data indicate that single motile E. coli can be attached to predesigned line or dot features and binding can occur via the cell body or the flagella of bacteria. Adherent bacteria are viable (remain alive and motile after adhesion to patterned surface features) for more than four hours. Individual motile bacterial cells can be placed onto predesigned surface features that are at least 1.3 microm in diameter or larger. The importance of controlling the adhesion of single bacterial cell to a surface is discussed with regard to biomotor design.     

带有力反馈控制的三明治式微机械干涉加速度计

设计了一种静电力反馈控制的三明治式微机械干涉加速度计,加速度计由敏感芯片、半导体激光器、光电二极管以及相应的驱动电路和反馈控制电路组成.敏感芯片为玻璃-硅-玻璃3层结构,通过硅-玻璃键合体硅工艺制成.硅质量块由铝梁支撑,底部玻璃基片上有金属光栅和电极,通过在质量块和底部玻璃基片上的电极之间施加电压可以调节质量块与玻璃基片间的间隙.入射激光照射到敏感芯片上的光栅上,产生衍射光束,其光强随质量块与下玻璃的间距而变化.反馈控制电路通过测量衍射光强的变化来改变质量块与底电极之间的电压,使得质量块与底部玻璃基片的距离保持为入射光波长1/8的奇数倍,从而提高输出线性度,改善灵敏度,增大量程.     

Rotation of microparticles with Bessel beams generated by diffractive elements

Abstract

We show that imaging a non-diverging Bessel beam by a spherical lens leads to the generation of a diverging Bessel beam. Expressions for the projections of the Umov-Poynting vector for a two-dimensional TE-polarized Bessel beam and a three-dimensional paraxial linearly polarized Bessel beam are derived. A fifth-order Bessel beam is produced using a single optical element-a 16-level phase-only diffractive helical axicon fabricated using electron beam lithography. This beam was successfully used to trap and rotate 5-10 μm diameter yeast particles and polystyrene beads of diameter 5 μm.     

AZ91D镁合金表面Ni-P化学镀层的微观组织与性能

以直接化学镀的方法在AZ91D镁合金表面制备了光亮、均匀、致密、厚度达40μm的Ni-P合金镀层,用现代分析技术分析了镀层的微观形貌、组织成分、显微硬度、结合力以及耐蚀性能.结果表明:Ni-P镀层属于中磷镀层,微晶结构,表面形貌呈胞状;镀层与基体结合良好;镀层的显微硬度比基体提高了4倍;镀层与抛光基体的结合力比未抛光的高,基体表面保持机加工状态的镀层破坏临界载荷为80.6 N;镀层具有较好的耐蚀性能.     

New fabrication technique for magnetic bubble circuits with submicron dimensions

A new technique which permits the fabrication of submicrometer bubble propagation circuits has been described. Straight line patterns and contiguous zigzag patterns are combined with an appropriate registration to form bubble propagation patterns. The straight line pattern width corresponds to the gap width in the Permalloy bubble propagation circuits. By controlling the exposure time in fabricating straight line photoresist patterns, submicrometer pattern gaps are easily obtained using photomasks with 1 μm minimum features. The 4 μm period and 0.5 μm gap width permalloy circuits fabricated using this technique provide promising propagation characteristics for 1 μm bubbles: 60 Oe bias field margin at 60 Oe drive field and 25 Oe minimum propagation drive field.     

Photoluminescence imaging of focused ion beam induced individual quantum dots

We report on scanning microphotoluminescence measurements that spectrally and spatially resolve emission from individual InAs quantum dots that were induced by focused ion beam patterning. Multilayers of quantum dots were spaced 2 μm apart, with a minimum single dot emission line width of 160 μeV, indicating good optical quality for dots patterned using this technique. Mapping 16 array sites, at least 65% were occupied by optically active dots and the spectral inhomogeneity was within 30 meV.     

Implementation of Molecular Transistor Electrodes by?Electromigration

Gaps with a size of less than 5 nm have been fabricated in 15-nm-thick and 200-nm-wide gold strips deposited on sapphire substrates. Preparation conditions providing a sufficient adhesion of such electrodes as well as the parameters for the electromigration process used to fabricate the gaps have been found which allow a successful gap implementation. Such gaps transform gold strips to the source-drain electrodes of planar single electron transistors based on nanoparticles or molecules.     

An accelerator-based neutron microbeam system for studies of radiation effects

A novel neutron microbeam is being developed at the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF) of Columbia University. The RARAF microbeam facility has been used for studies of radiation bystander effects in mammalian cells for many years. Now a prototype neutron microbeam is being developed that can be used for bystander effect studies. The neutron microbeam design here is based on the existing charged particle microbeam technology at the RARAF. The principle of the neutron microbeam is to use the proton beam with a micrometre-sized diameter impinging on a very thin lithium fluoride target system. From the kinematics of the ?Li(p,n)?Be reaction near the threshold of 1.881 MeV, the neutron beam is confined within a narrow, forward solid angle. Calculations show that the neutron spot using a target with a 17-μm thick gold backing foil will be <20 μm in diameter for cells attached to a 3.8-μm thick propylene-bottomed cell dish in contact with the target backing. The neutron flux will roughly be 2000 per second based on the current beam setup at the RARAF singleton accelerator. The dose rate will be about 200 mGy min?1. The principle of this neutron microbeam system has been preliminarily tested at the RARAF using a collimated proton beam. The imaging of the neutron beam was performed using novel fluorescent nuclear track detector technology based on Mg-doped luminescent aluminum oxide single crystals and confocal laser scanning fluorescent microscopy.     

The effect of substrate topography on hFOB cell behavior and initial cell adhesion evaluated by a cytodetacher

This study examined human fetal osteoblast (hFOB) cell morphology, adhesion force, and proliferation on a titanium-coated grooved surface. V-shaped grooves with a depth of 2.4 μm (T1) or 4.8 μm (T2) were produced in silicon wafers using photolithography and wet etching techniques. The grooved substrates were coated with a 200-nm-thick layer of titanium using a sputtering system. Smooth Ti-coated Si wafers were used as control surfaces. Analysis of the scanning electron microscopy observations shows that the cells responded to the micropattern by spreading out and becoming elongated. The MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay indicated that the grooved specimens had a significantly larger number of cells than did the control group after 5- and 15-day cultures. The cytocompatibility of specimens was quantitatively evaluated by a cytodetacher, which directly measures the detachment shear force of an individual cell to the substrate. After 30-min culture, the cell adhesion forces were 48.4, 136.6, and 103.3 nN for the smooth specimen, the T1 specimen, and the T2 specimen, respectively. The cell adhesion strengths were 294, 501, and 590 Pa for the smooth specimen, the T1 specimen, and the T2 specimen, respectively. The cell adhesion force and cell adhesion strength indicate the quality of cell adhesion, explaining the largest number of cells on grooved specimens. The experimental results suggest that the grooved patterns affect the cell shape and cytoskeletal structure, and thus influence the cell proliferation and cell adhesion force. The cytodetachment test with nanonewton resolution is a sensitive method for studying cell–biomaterial interaction.     

High Hole Mobility of GaSb Relaxed Epilayer Grown on GaAs Substrate by MOCVD through Interfacial Misfit Dislocations Array

The structural property of GaSb epilayers grown on semi-insulator GaAs (001) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using Triethylgallium (TEGa) and trimethylantimony (TMSb),was investigated by variation of the Sb:Ga (V/III) ratio.An optimum V/III ratio of 1.4 was determined in our growth conditions.Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM),we found that there was an interfacial misfit dislocations (IMF) growth mode in our experiment,in which the large misfit strain between epilayer and substrate is relaxed by periodic 90 deg.IMF array at the hetero-epitaxial interface.The rms roughness of a 300 nm-thick GaSb layer is only 2.7 nm in a 10 μm×10 μm scan from atomic force microscopy (AFM) result.The best hole density and mobility of 300 nm GaSb epilayer are 5.27×10 6 cm 3 (1.20×10 6) and 553 cm 2 ·V 1 ·s 1 (2340) at RT (77 K) from Hall measurement,respectively.These results indicate that the IMF growth mode can be used in MOCVD epitaxial technology similar to molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technology to produce the thinner GaSb layer with low density of dislocations and other defects on GaAs substrate for the application of devices.     

不可逆封合微流控芯片中高活性蛋白质阵列的制备

保持生物分子的高活性是在不可逆封合微流控芯片中构筑微阵列芯片的关键问题.首先,利用MEMS技术和表面修饰方法制作了一种聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)/玻璃芯片.应用光刻技术制作了PDMS盖片上的通道,同时用光刻剥离技术制作了玻璃基片上的金膜图案.进而,使用双官能团修饰剂3-氨丙基三甲氧基硅氧烷(APTMS)在玻璃基体和金膜图案上进行选择性表面修饰以吸附形成蛋白质阵列,并在其上覆盖一层水溶性聚乙烯醇(PVA)来保护蛋白质,既可避免其在加热处理过程中的高温伤害,又能防止在PDMS盖片与玻璃基片进行不可逆封合过程中的氧等离子体轰击造成的活性伤害.然后,通入水溶液冲洗除去PVA膜.使用荧光显微镜和原子力显微镜(AFM)考察蛋白质阵列质量,并结合免疫反应实验和细胞捕获固定实验评估蛋白质阵列的活性.结果表明,使用该方法可在不可逆封合的微流控芯片制作中构筑具有直径为200μm的高分辨率蛋白质阵列图案,蛋白质保持高的免疫活性,且可用于固定Hela细胞.     

Quantification of carbon nanotube induced adhesion of osteoblast on hydroxyapatite using nano-scratch technique

This paper explores the nano-scratch technique for measuring the adhesion strength of a single osteoblast cell on a hydroxyapatite (HA) surface reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). This technique efficiently separates out the contribution of the environment (culture medium and substrate) from the measured adhesion force of the cell, which is a major limitation of the existing techniques. Nano-scratches were performed on plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA) and HA-CNT coatings to quantify the adhesion of the osteoblast. The presence of CNTs in HA coating promotes an increase in the adhesion of osteoblasts. The adhesion force and energy of an osteoblast on a HA-CNT surface are 17 ± 2 μN/cell and 78 ± 14 pJ/cell respectively, as compared to 11 ± 2 μN/cell and 45 ± 10 pJ/cell on a HA surface after 1 day of incubation. The adhesion force and energy of the osteoblasts increase on both the surfaces with culture periods of up to 5 days. This increase is more pronounced for osteoblasts cultured on HA-CNT. Staining of actin filaments revealed a higher spreading and attachment of osteoblasts on a surface containing CNTs. The affinity of CNTs to conjugate with integrin and other proteins is responsible for the enhanced attachment of osteoblasts. Our results suggest that the addition of CNTs to surfaces used in medical applications may be beneficial when stronger adhesion of osteoblasts is desired.     

Transparent liquid-crystal-based microlens array using vertically aligned carbon nanofiber electrodes on quartz substrates

A novel transparent liquid-crystal-based microlens array has been fabricated using an array of vertically aligned multi-wall carbon nanofibers (MWCNFs) on a quartz substrate and its optical characteristics investigated. Electron beam lithography was used for the catalyst patterning on a quartz substrate to grow the MWCNF array of electrodes. The structure of the electrode array was determined through simulation to achieve the best optical performance. Both the patterned catalyst and growth parameters were optimized for optimal MWCNF properties. We report an in-depth optical characterization of these reconfigurable hybrid liquid crystal and nanofiber microlens arrays.     

Electrophoretic cell manipulation and electrochemical gene-function analysis based on a yeast two-hybrid system in a microfluidic device

A novel microfluidic device with an array of analytical chambers was developed in order to perform single-cell-based gene-function analysis. A series of analytical processes was carried out using the device, including electrophoretic manipulation of single cells and electrochemical measurement of gene function. A poly(dimethylsiloxane) microstructure with a microfluidic channel (150 microm in width, 10 microm in height) and an analytical chamber (100 x 20 x 10 microm (3)) were fabricated and aligned on a glass substrate with an array of Au microelectrodes. Two microelectrodes positioned in the analytical chamber were employed as a working electrode for the electrophoretic manipulation of cells and electrochemical measurements. A yeast strain ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y190) carrying the beta-galactosidase reporter gene was used to demonstrate that the device could detect the enzyme. Target cells flowing through the main channel were introduced into the chamber by electrophoresis using the ground electrode laid on the main channel. When the cell was treated with 17beta-estradiol, gene expression was triggered to produce beta-galactosidase, catalyzing the hydrolysis of p-aminophenyl-beta- D-galactopyranoside to form p-aminophenol (PAP). The enzymatically generated PAP was detected by cyclic voltammetry and amperometry at the single-cell level in the chamber of the device. Generator-collector mode amperometry was also applied to amplify the current response originating from gene expression in the trapped single cells. After electrochemical measurement, the trapped cells were easily released from the chamber using electrophoretic force.     

Drying induced upright sliding and reorganization of carbon nanotube arrays

Driven by capillary force, wet carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays have been found to reorganize into cellular structures upon drying. During the reorganization process, individual CNTs are firmly attached to the substrate and have to lie down on the substrate at cell bottoms, forming closed cells. Here we demonstrate that by modifying catalyst structures, the adhesion of CNTs to the substrate can be weakened. Upon drying such CNT arrays, CNTs may slide away from their original sites on the surface and self-assemble into cellular patterns with bottoms open. It is also found that the sliding distance of CNTs increases with array height, and drying millimetre tall arrays leads to the sliding of CNTs over a few hundred micrometres and the eventual self-assembly into discrete islands. By introducing regular vacancies in CNT arrays, CNTs may be manipulated into different patterns.     

基于非硅微加工技术的超疏水表面的设计和制造

利用非硅微加工技术,在金属基底表面构建了由圆柱状金属镍组成的规则的微阵列结构,研究了微阵列的疏水性.利用正己烷溶解十八烷基三氯硅烷(OTS)配制成涂覆液,对微阵列进行低表面能物质涂覆.通过对比涂覆前后的静态超疏水性,研究了低表面能物质涂覆的作用.实验发现圆柱高度为5～30μm、直径为30～50μm、间距为15～50μm的微结构阵列在不涂覆OTS的前提下表现出了稳定的超疏水性.涂覆OTS虽然没有增加阵列结构的接触角,但是改善了微阵列在水流冲击下的疏水性.     

A metallization and bonding approach for high performance carbon nanotube thermal interface materials

A method has been developed to create vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) thermal interface materials that can be attached to a variety of metallized surfaces. VACNT films were grown on Si substrates using standard CVD processing followed by metallization using Ti/Au. The coated CNTs were then bonded to metallized substrates at 220?°C. By reducing the adhesion of the VACNTs to the growth substrate during synthesis, the CNTs can be completely transferred from the Si growth substrate and used as a die attachment material for electronic components. Thermal resistance measurements using a photoacoustic technique showed thermal resistances as low as 1.7 mm(2) K W(-1) for bonded VACNT films 25-30 μm in length and 10 mm(2) K W(-1) for CNTs up to 130 μm in length. Tensile testing demonstrated a die attachment strength of 40 N cm(-2) at room temperature. Overall, these metallized and bonded VACNT films demonstrate properties which are promising for next-generation thermal interface material applications.     

Large array of single, site-controlled InAs quantum dots fabricated by UV-nanoimprint lithography and molecular beam epitaxy

We present the growth of single, site-controlled InAs quantum dots on GaAs templates using UV-nanoimprint lithography and molecular beam epitaxy. A large quantum dot array with a period of 1.5 μm was achieved. Single quantum dots were studied by steady-state and time-resolved micro-photoluminescence experiments. We obtained single exciton emission with a linewidth of 45 μeV. In time-resolved experiments, we observed decay times of about 670 ps. Our results underline the potential of nanoimprint lithography and molecular beam epitaxy to create large-scale, single quantum dot arrays.     

Highly-efficient single-cell capture in microfluidic array chips using differential hydrodynamic guiding structures

This paper presents a highly efficient single cell capture scheme using hydrodynamic guiding structures in a microwell array. The implemented structure has a capturing efficiency of >80%, and has a capacity to place individual cells into separated microwells, allowing for the time-lapse monitoring on single cell behavior. Feasibility was tested by injecting microbeads (15 μm in diameter) and prostate cancer PC3 cells in an 8×8 microwell array chip and >80% of the microwells were occupied by single ones. Using the chips, the number of cells required for cell assays can be dramatically reduced and this will facilitate overcoming a huddle of assays with scarce supply of cells.