Silicon-based ion channel sensor

Melting and interdigitation of microstructured solid supported membranes quantified by imaging ellipsometry

“…[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] However, little is known about the impact of the solid support on physical properties of lipid bilayers attached to surfaces such as the main phase transition temperature or lateral mobility of the lipids. It is expected that phase transitions are strongly affected if not entirely suppressed by the various different supports ranging from glass, gold, silicon, mica to all kinds of functionalized surfaces.…”

Emerging trends in precision fabrication of microapertures to support suspended lipid membranes for sensors, sequencing, and beyond

“…Unfortunately, silicon substrates meet neither the dielectric nor surface chemistry criteria for effective BLM apertures. Although there are reports of microaperture fabrication in silicon [21–23], silicon aperture fabrication often involves additional, complex fabrication procedures to improve dielectric performance and manipulate surface chemistry. An alternative to forming microapertures in bulk silicon wafers is to employ insulator deposition processes common in silicon fabrication, such as vapor deposition or thermal oxide growth, to yield a thin film insulator substrate on a silicon wafer handle.…”

Ionic Channels as Natural Nanodevices

“…Figure 6 illustrates how the contact angle can change based on the modification of a substrate's surface. Those wishing to see more information related to this particular aspect of the project can find them in a Superlattices & Microstructures paper [23] that contains a more in depth discussion of early sample preparation and use of Teflon. An Applied Physics Letters article contains additional discussion on the benefits of the use of Teflon in microfabricating apertures in a silicon substrate and currentvoltage measurements taken to demonstrate the robustness of PFTE and reusability of the design.…”