Daniel Fine

The effect of shape on the margination dynamics of non-neutrally buoyant particles in two-dimensional shear flows

The margination dynamics of microparticles with different shapes has been analyzed within a laminar flow mimicking the hydrodynamic conditions in the microcirculation. Silica spherical particles, quasi-hemispherical and discoidal silicon particles have been perfused in a parallel plate flow chamber. The effect of the shape and density on their margination propensity has been investigated at different physiologically relevant shear rates S. Simple scaling laws have been derived showing that the number n of marginating particles scales as S(-0.63) for the spheres; S(-0.85) for discoidal and S(-1) for quasi-hemispherical particles, regardless of their density and size. Within the range considered for the shear rate, discoidal particles marginate in a larger number compared to quasi-hemispherical and spherical particles. These results may be of interest in drug delivery and bio-imaging applications, where particles are expected to drift towards and interact with the walls of the blood vessels.

Tailored Porous Silicon Microparticles: Fabrication and Properties

The use of mesoporous silicon particles for drug delivery has been widely explored thanks to their biodegradability and biocompatibility. The ability to tailor the physicochemical properties of porous silicon at the micro- and nanoscale confers versatility to this material. A method for the fabrication of highly reproducible, monodisperse, mesoporous silicon particles with controlled physical characteristics through electrochemical etching of patterned silicon trenches is presented. The particle size is tailored in the micrometer range and pore size in the nanometer range, the shape from tubular to discoidal to hemispherical, and the porosity from 46 to over 80%. In addition, the properties of the porous matrix are correlated with the loading of model nanoparticles (quantum dots) and their three-dimensional arrangement within the matrix is observed by transmission electron microscopy tomography. The methods developed in this study provide effective means to fabricate mesoporous silicon particles according to the principles of rational design for therapeutic vectors and to characterize the distribution of nanoparticles within the porous matrix.

Carbon based materials for electronic bio-sensing

Bio-sensing represents one of the most attractive applications of carbon material based electronic devices; nevertheless, the complete integration of bioactive transducing elements still represents a major challenge, particularly in terms of preserving biological function and specificity while maintaining the sensors electronic performance. This review highlights recent advances in the realization of field-effect transistor (FET) based sensors that comprise a bio-receptor within the FET channel. A birds-eye view will be provided of the most promising classes of active layers as well as different device architectures and methods of fabrication. Finally, strategies for interfacing bio-components with organic or carbon nano-structured electronic active layers are reported.

Nanoscale chemical sensor based on organic thin-film transistors

Nanoscale organic thin-film transistors were fabricated to investigate their chemical sensing properties. The use of a four-terminal geometry ensures that the sensor active area is truly nanoscale, and eliminates undesirable spreading currents. The sensor response was markedly different in nanoscale sensors compared to large-area sensors for the same analyte–semiconductor combination. The chemical sensing mechanisms in both microscale and nanoscale transistors are briefly discussed.

Ciliated micropillars for the microfluidic-based isolation of nanoscale lipid vesicles

We fabricated a microfluidic device consisting of ciliated micropillars, forming a porous silicon nanowire-on-micropillar structure. We demonstrated that the prototype device can preferentially trap exosome-like lipid vesicles, while simultaneously filtering out proteins and cell debris. Trapped lipid vesicles can be recovered intact by dissolving the porous nanowires in PBS buffer.

Electric-field-dependent charge transport in organic thin-film transistors

This article reports the experimental study of the electric-field-dependent charge transport mechanisms in polycrystalline organic thin-film field-effect transistors. This work represents the quantitative measurement of the temperature and electric-field dependences of the mobility in organic thin-film transistors with scaled device geometry when carrier densities are at levels of practical importance. The true behavior of field-dependent mobility was extracted by minimizing contact effects consistently over a range of channel lengths. In these partially ordered systems, experimental data suggest that thermally activated and field-assisted hopping transport between disorder-induced localized states dominates over intrinsic polaronic transport seen in organic single crystals. The experimental results were found to exhibit a Frenkel-Poole-type dependence consistently over a wide range of channel lengths, fields, and temperatures.

Pentacene field-effect transistors with sub-10-nm channel lengths

The field effect in pentacene thin-film transistors was studied using bottom-contact devices with channel lengths below 10nm. To suppress spreading current in these devices, which have a small channel width-to-length (W-L) ratio, we employed a pair of guarding electrodes as close as 20nm to the two sides of the channel. The responses of these nanometer scale transistors exhibit good gate modulation. Mobilities of 0.046cm2∕Vs and on/off ratios of 97 were achieved in sub-10-nm transistors. We find that the device response is strongly influenced by the nature of the metal-semiconductor contact.

A robust nanofluidic membrane with tunable zero-order release for implantable dose specific drug delivery

This manuscript demonstrates a mechanically robust implantable nanofluidic membrane capable of tunable long-term zero-order release of therapeutic agents in ranges relevant for clinical applications. The membrane, with nanochannels as small as 5 nm, allows for the independent control of both dosage and mechanical strength through the integration of high-density short nanochannels parallel to the membrane surface with perpendicular micro- and macrochannels for interfacing with the ambient solutions. These nanofluidic membranes are created using precision silicon fabrication techniques on silicon-on-insulator substrates enabling exquisite control over the monodispersed nanochannel dimensions and surface roughness. Zero-order release of analytes is achieved by exploiting molecule to surface interactions which dominate diffusive transport when fluids are confined to the nanoscale. In this study we investigate the nanofluidic membrane performance using custom diffusion and gas testing apparatuses to quantify molecular release rate and process uniformity as well as mechanical strength using a gas based burst test. The kinetics of the constrained zero-order release is probed with molecules presenting a range of sizes, charge states, and structural conformations. Finally, an optimal ratio of the molecular hydrodynamic diameter to the nanochannel dimension is determined to assure zero-order release for each tested molecule.

Silicon Micro- and Nanofabrication for Medicine

This manuscript constitutes a review of several innovative biomedical technologies fabricated using the precision and accuracy of silicon micro- and nanofabrication. The technologies to be reviewed are subcutaneous nanochannel drug delivery implants for the continuous tunable zero-order release of therapeutics, multi-stage logic embedded vectors for the targeted systemic distribution of both therapeutic and imaging contrast agents, silicon and porous silicon nanowires for investigating cellular interactions and processes as well as for molecular and drug delivery applications, porous silicon (pSi) as inclusions into biocomposites for tissue engineering, especially as it applies to bone repair and regrowth, and porous silica chips for proteomic profiling. In the case of the biocomposites, the specifically designed pSi inclusions not only add to the structural robustness, but can also promote tissue and bone regrowth, fight infection, and reduce pain by releasing stimulating factors and other therapeutic agents stored within their porous network. The common material thread throughout all of these constructs, silicon and its associated dielectrics (silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, etc.), can be precisely and accurately machined using the same scalable micro- and nanofabrication protocols that are ubiquitous within the semiconductor industry. These techniques lend themselves to the high throughput production of exquisitely defined and monodispersed nanoscale features that should eliminate architectural randomness as a source of experimental variation thereby potentially leading to more rapid clinical translation.

Nanodevices in diagnostics.

The real-time, personalized and highly sensitive early-stage diagnosis of disease remains an important challenge in modern medicine. With the ability to interact with matter at the nanoscale, the development of nanotechnology architectures and materials could potentially extend subcellular and molecular detection beyond the limits of conventional diagnostic modalities. At the very least, nanotechnology should be able to dramatically accelerate biomarker discovery, as well as facilitate disease monitoring, especially of maladies presenting a high degree of molecular and compositional heterogeneity. This article gives an overview of several of the most promising nanodevices and nanomaterials along with their applications in clinical practice. Significant work to adapt nanoscale materials and devices to clinical applications involving large interdisciplinary collaborations is already underway with the potential for nanotechnology to become an important enabling diagnostic technology.