A fluid microplotter that uses ultrasonics to deposit small fluid features has been constructed. It consists of a dispenser, composed of a micropipette fastened to a piece of lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric, attached to a precision positioning system. When an electrical signal of the appropriate frequency and voltage is applied, solution in the tip of the micropipette wicks to the surface in a controlled fashion. The gentle pumping of fluid to the surface occurs when the micropipette is driven at frequencies in the range of 400-700 kHz. Spots with diameters smaller than several microns can be deposited in this manner. Continuous lines can also be produced. Several examples of deposited patterns and structures are described. This means of deposition represents a higher-resolution alternative to standard fluid deposition techniques in the fabrication of biological microarrays or polymer-based circuits.

Articles you may be interested inVillain's fractal growth of poly [1-[4-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenylazo) benzenesulfonamido]-1,2-ethanediyl, sodium salt] J-aggregates onto layer-by-layer films and its effect on film absorbance spectrum Morphology and chain aggregation dependence of optical gain in thermally annealed films of the conjugated polymer poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylene vinylene] Steady-stage photoluminescence and photoabsorption have been used to characterize the impact of aggregation in various poly(di-n-alkylfluorene) thin films. Highly aggregated films exhibit systematic changes in the photoluminescence while aging. These are indicative of a gradual increase in interchain interactions. Nonaggregated films do not exhibit this behavior. However the mesomorphic properties are altered and these films undergo irreversible changes on thermal cycling. All these properties appear to be correlated with changes in the local short-range molecular packing.

Poly(dimethylsiloxane), PDMS, a versatile elastomer, is the polymer of choice for microfluidic systems. It is inexpensive, relatively easy to pattern, and permeable to oxygen. Unmodified PDMS is highly hydrophobic. It is typically exposed to an oxygen plasma to reduce this hydrophobicity. Unfortunately, the PDMS surface soon returns to its original hydrophobic state. We present two alternative plasma treatments that yield long-term modification of the wetting properties of a PDMS surface. An oxygen plasma pretreatment followed by exposure to a SiCl4 plasma and an oxygen-CCl4 mixture plasma both cause a permanent reduction in the hydrophobicity of the PDMS surface. We investigate the properties of the plasma-treated surfaces with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurements. We propose that the plasma treated PDMS surface is a dynamic mosaic of high- and low-contact-angle functionalities. The SiCl4 and CCl4 plasmas attach polar groups that block coverage of the surface by low-molecular-weight groups that exist in PDMS. We describe an application that benefits from these new plasma treatments, the use of a PDMS stencil to form dense arrays of DNA on a surface.

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We demonstrate a way to direct carbon nanotube growth using Si nanocrystals that are self-ordered via the thermal decomposition of thin silicon-on-insulator substrates. The Si nanocrystals are about 90 nm wide and 100-150 nm tall, with 200 nm spacing. Nanotubes connect the silicon nanocrystals to form a network. Nanotubes selectively appear between tops of the Si nanocrystals. We show that the flow pattern of the carbon feedstock in the chemical vapor deposition growth process is disturbed by the geometric effect of the Si nanocrystals, providing a mechanism for growth between the tops of the Si nanocrystals.