New nano-sculptured thin film structures for biosensing applications

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Nanotechnological solutions for environmental and medical sensing are addressed in this trilateral proposal by the lOM Leipzig Germany, BGU Israel and Al-Quds University Palestine. There is a need for rapid sensing of pollutants in water, toxins and pathogens in blood and in other body liquids. This problem Is and shall always remain an ongoing concern worldwide. In order to effectively address the problem, a class of nanomaterials will be used called sculptured thin films (STFs) and a sensing technique to exploit surface-enhanced optical phenomena. STFs have a columnar morphology comprising nano-columns of various shapes and made of 1-3 nm clusters. Their porosity allows infiltration by a liquid as well as functionalization to target specific analytes (toxins, etc.). STFs of different materials will be designed and fabricated at the lOM, using thermal evaporation and electronbeam evaporation methods, on glass slides and silicon wafers. The slides could be nanolithographically patterned to promote the lab-on-a-chip concept. The materials for STFs Include metals or dielectrics that are coated thinly with a metal. After evaluation at the lOM of their morphology and planewave reflection/transmission spectra, STFs will be evaluated at BGU and Al-Quds as platforms to exploit surface-enhanced Raman scattering, fluorescence, surface-plasmon resonance, and local surface-plasmon resonance. Sensors based on these phenomena will then be built which will require functionalization of their surfaces as well as bioreceptor conjugation for specific target detection.