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Chemoselective Nanowire Fuses: Chemically Induced Cleavage and Electrical Detection of Carbon Nanofiber Bridges
Author(s) -
Li Bo,
Shang Lu,
Marcus Matthew S.,
Clare Tami Lasseter,
Perkins Edward,
Hamers Robert J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.200700944
Subject(s) - nanowire , dielectrophoresis , carbon nanotube , electrode , materials science , nanotechnology , microelectrode , nanoscopic scale , cleavage (geology) , nanofiber , carbon nanofiber , chemistry , microfluidics , composite material , fracture (geology)
A new type of nanoscale bioswitch based on the electrical detection of chemically induced cleavage of chemical bonds, which bind individual nanowires across a pair of electrodes is demonstrated. Carbon nanofibers are manipulated using dielectrophoresis to form single‐nanowire bridges across microelectrode junctions, and are anchored through a biomolecular interaction. Once in place, chemically induced cleavage of a recognition site along the bonds linking the nanowire to the electrodes allows the nanowire to be easily removed by a flow of fluid; this removal can be detected in real time via changes in the AC electrical response. This form of sensing is inherently digital in nature as the removal of a single nanowire produces a sudden decrease in the current between electrodes and is essentially a chemoselective fuse. These results suggest that this sensing principle could be a general method for digital chemical and/or biological sensing using individual nanowires.