SBIR Phase I: Microfabricated Silicon Devices for Low Cost Microarray

这个小型企业创新研究项目建议使用硅微制造技术来生产新的硅点针脚，用于制备微阵列。微阵列技术已经迅速扩展到生物学研究的许多不同领域。这些阵列的很大一部分是通过使用高精度金属点针的直接接触打印完成的，这些点针单独加工，每个成本高达400美元。使用简单的硅微制造技术，该公司已经准备了用于制备微阵列的硅点针原型、保持架和转移设备，其性能特征预计将远远超过当前最先进的设备。与已加工的金属元件相比，硅点焊针的优势包括尺寸公差提高10-100倍，重量小于1%(压力越小，斑点更均匀)，针尖硬度，能够对针脚的二氧化硅表面进行化学修饰以控制润湿和液体吸收/释放，阵列中的针脚密度更高(微阵列中的点密度更高)，针脚的体积吸收率更精确，表面摩擦力更低(夹持器中易于滑动移动)，针头抗弯曲损坏，以及能够制造传统机械加工无法获得的复杂特征。由于这些部件将大规模生产，预计每个管脚的成本将降低100至1000倍。该项目的商业应用是在DNA微阵列领域。

0214480HaushalterThis Small Business Innovation Research Project proposes to use silicon microfabrication techniques to produce new silicon spotting pins that will be used for the preparation of microarrays. Microarray technology has rapidly spread into many diverse areas of biological research. The preparation of a large portion of these arrays is accomplished by direct contact printing using high precision metal spotting pins, which are individually machined at costs up to $400 each. Using straightforward silicon microfabrication techniques,this company has prepared prototype silicon spotting pins, holders and transfer devices for the preparation of microarrays whose performance characteristics are expected to far exceed those of current state-of-the-art devices. Advantages of silicon spotting pins over machined metal components include 10-100 fold higher dimensional tolerances, less than 1% of the weight (lighter pressure gives more uniform spots), tip hardness, the ability to chemically modify the SiO2 surface of the pins to control wetting and liquid uptake/release, higher pin density in array (higher spot density in microarray), more precise volumetric uptake into pin, lower surface friction (ease of sliding movement in holder), resistance of tip to bending damage and the ability to fabricate complex features not obtainable by traditional machine shop fabrication. Since the parts will be mass produced, it is estimated that a hundred to a thousand fold reduction in cost per pin would result.The commercial applications of this project are in the area of DNA microarrays.