EPDT: Nano-scale Light Emitting Diode on Silicon Cantilever for Near-field Microscopy of Nanovectors Biodistribution in Tissues and Living Cells

EPDT：硅悬臂梁上的纳米级发光二极管，用于组织和活细胞中纳米载体生物分布的近场显微镜检查

• 批准号: 0725886
• 负责人: Xiaojing Zhang
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-08-15 至 2011-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0725886&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EPDT; Nano; scale; Light; Emitting

The objective of this research is to characterize the distribution of multi-stage combinatorial directed nanovectors in tissues and living cells for tumor characterization and destruction. The approach is to develop a novel near-field scanning probe with sub-diffraction-limit resolution by directly fabricating nanometer sized light source on patterned silicon probe tip, and to use the probe to identify the molecular signatures of breast tumors.Intellectual Merit: The key technology involves using patterned SOI wafer to create a nanoscale light source on the tip of a MEMS fabricated probe. The light source will be made between a pair of silicon electrodes located on the tip, through electrostatically trapping semiconductor nanoparticles (CdSe/ZnS). The expected optical aperture size is ~10 nm, an order of magnitude reduction from that of an advanced NSOM, which enables high resolution imaging of multimolecular complexes on living cells. The self-illuminating scanning probe can be batch fabricated in an array format, with the potential for electronics integration. Broader Impacts: The proposed architecture will be extendable to imaging the development mechanics of other sub-cellular structures. Understanding development at cellular level is essential for understanding of human diseases caused by defects and errors in development and differentiation pathways. A Texas-wide interdisciplinary collaboration in biomedical engineering research and education has recently been initiated. This proposal reflects the inter-institutional goal to conduct cutting-edge research to advance the field of micro-nano scale photonics and MEMS for novel biomedical imaging, to provide outstanding teaching for students, and to attract minority especially Hispanic students into engineering professions.

本研究的目的是表征多级组合定向纳米载体在组织和活细胞中的分布，以用于肿瘤表征和破坏。该方法是通过在图案化的硅探针尖端上直接制造纳米级光源来开发一种具有亚衍射极限分辨率的新型近场扫描探针，并使用该探针来识别乳腺肿瘤的分子特征。 知识产权优点：关键技术涉及使用图案化的SOI晶圆在MEMS制造的探针尖端上创建纳米级光源。光源将通过静电捕获半导体纳米粒子 (CdSe/ZnS) 在位于尖端的一对硅电极之间产生。预期的光学孔径尺寸约为 10 nm，比先进的 NSOM 降低了一个数量级，可以对活细胞上的多分子复合物进行高分辨率成像。自发光扫描探头可以以阵列形式批量制造，具有电子集成的潜力。更广泛的影响：所提出的架构将可扩展到其他亚细胞结构的发育机制的成像。了解细胞水平的发育对于理解由发育和分化途径的缺陷和错误引起的人类疾病至关重要。最近，德克萨斯州范围内启动了生物医学工程研究和教育方面的跨学科合作。该提案反映了开展前沿研究以推进新型生物医学成像微纳米级光子学和 MEMS 领域的跨机构目标，为学生提供出色的教学，并吸引少数族裔尤其是西班牙裔学生进入工程专业。