Investigation of the thermal stability of 2-D patterns of Au nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles can serve as useful components or sub-assemblies, i.e., building blocks, in the design and fabrication of more complex structures needed for rapid prototyping using layered nanofabrication (LNF) or for use in nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). This paper describes investigations of the thermal stability of simple 2-D patterns of thiol-coated, 5-nm gold nanoparticles deposited on the native oxide surface of a Si(100) single crystal substrate. The changes in the particle structure and location on the surface were probed by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) before and after heating in ambient air. Experiments were carried out on the as-deposited nanoparticles and on patterns of nanoparticles that had been pretreated (prior to heating) by a 10-min exposure in a UV-ozone ashing chamber. All individual particles and 2-D patterns were stable up to 550 degrees C. Higher temperatures caused first a reduction in particle height and eventually a loss of the particle from the field of view (presumably by rather long-range diffusion).

Whole-cell sensing for a harmful bloom-forming microscopic alga by measuring antibody--antigen forces.

Aureococcus anophagefferens, a harmful bloom-forming alga responsible for brown tides in estuaries of the Middle Atlantic U.S., has been investigated by atomic force microscopy for the first time, using probes functionalized with a monoclonal antibody specific for the alga. The rupture force between a single monoclonal antibody and the surface of A. anophagefferens was experimentally found to be 246 +/- 11 pN at the load rate of 12 nN/s. Force histograms for A. anophagefferens and other similarly-sized algae are presented and analyzed. The results illustrate the effects of load rates, and demonstrate that force-distance measurements can be used to build biosensors with high signal-to-noise ratios for A. anophagefferens. The methods described in this paper can be used, in principle, to construct sensors with single-cell resolution for arbitrary cells for which monoclonal antibodies are available.

Actuation of polypyrrole nanowires.

Nanoscale actuators are essential components of the NEMS (nanoelectromechanical systems) and nanorobots of the future, and are expected to become a major area of development within nanotechnology. This paper demonstrates for the first time that individual polypyrrole (PPy) nanowires with diameters under 100 nm exhibit actuation behavior, and therefore can potentially be used for constructing nanoscale actuators. PPy is an electroactive polymer which can change volume on the basis of its oxidation state. PPy-based macroscale and microscale actuators have been demonstrated, but their nanoscale counterparts have not been realized until now. The research reported here answers positively the fundamental question of whether PPy wires still exhibit useful volume changes at the nanoscale. Nanowires with a 50 nm diameter and a length of approximately 6 µm, are fabricated by chemical polymerization using track-etched polycarbonate membranes as templates. Their actuation response as a function of oxidation state is investigated by electrochemical AFM (atomic force microscopy). An estimate of the minimum actuation force is made, based on the displacement of the AFM cantilever.

Fabrication of polystyrene latex nanostructures by nanomanipulation and thermal processing.

The capability to fabricate nanoscale structures is a fundamental step toward realizing the promise and potential of nanotechnology. We report on precise manipulation and thermal processing using 100-nm polystyrene latex nanoparticles. This approach is illustrated by fabricating a three-dimensional nanostructure by using an AFM tip to position nanoparticles and then thermally processing to "sinter" the particles to form a contiguous, stable structure. We suggest that this is a general approach, but the use of polystyrene latex particles offers an advantage of low-temperature processing. Use of polystyrene latex also extends the range of materials for which we have demonstrated manipulation and suggests applications including fluorescent doping and electrically conducting polymers.