Electrical Properties and Sensor Applications of Glass Nanopore Electrodes

犹他州大学的Henry S.White教授在化学系分析和表面化学计划的支持下，开发了制备化学修饰的玻璃纳米孔电极的方法，并研究了其电学和电化学性质。电极的制造方法是：将铂或金丝密封在高阻玻璃毛细管中，使用电反馈电路抛光玻璃，暴露出已知半径的纳米盘电极，并蚀刻金属盘，形成圆锥形的孔，通过纳米级的孔口暴露在分析物溶液中。该项目的目标是：(1)优化具有可重复的5 nm半径小孔的电极的制造；(2)开发交流电导方法来测量孔口处的电阻，以响应分析物的结合；(3)设计响应纳米孔的分子识别位置和材料；以及(4)评估电极在特定相关应用中的刺激响应行为。长期目标是开发一种独立的装置，可以潜在地取代在化学和生物医学分析中普遍使用的离子选择电极。该装置结合了用于分析化学品和生物化学品的分离和传感元件，具有潜在地接近单分子水平的灵敏度。该项目将为学生在纳米技术、表面化学、生物化学、电学测量、聚合物化学和计算化学方面提供极好的研究和专业培训机会。

Professor Henry S. White of the University of Utah is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry to develop methods for fabricating chemically modified glass nanopore electrodes and to investigate their electrical and electrochemical properties. The electrodes will be fabricated by sealing platinum or gold wires in high-resistance glass capillaries, polishing the glass to expose a nanodisk electrode of known radius using electrical feedback circuitry, and etching the metal disk to create a conical shaped pore that is exposed to the analyte solution through a nanometer scale orifice. The objectives of this project are: (1) to optimize the fabrication of electrodes with reproducible 5 nm-radius orifices; (2) to develop alternate-current conductivity methodology to measure the resistance at the pore orifice in response to analyte binding; (3) to design molecular recognition sites and materials for the responsive nanopores; and (4) to evaluate the stimulus-response behavior of the electrodes in specific relevant applications.The long term objective is to develop a self-contained device that could potentially replace the ion-selective electrode, which is employed ubiquitously in chemical and biomedical analysis. The device combines separation and sensing elements for the analysis of chemicals and biochemicals, with sensitivities that could potentially approach the single-molecule level. The project will provide excellent research and professional training opportunities for students in nanotechnology, surface chemistry, biochemistry, electrical measurements, polymer chemistry and computational chemistry.