Template Synthesized Membranes for Ion Transport Modulation and Silica-based Delivery Systems

Download or read book Template Synthesized Membranes for Ion Transport Modulation and Silica-based Delivery Systems written by Fatih Buyukserin and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chapter 4 describes the fabrication of a unique nanopore polymer template and its use for silica nano test tube production by sol-gel chemistry. Our objective with these test tubes was to impart multifunctionality through differential modification for developing a technology for cell specific biomolecule delivery. A plasma etch method, using a nanopore alumina film as the mask, was used to etch a replica of the alumina pore structure into the surface of a polymer film. The distance that the pores propagate into the photoresist film is determined by the duration of the etching process. The pores in such plasma-etched nanopore photoresists films were used as templates to prepare silica nano test tubes with lengths as small as 380 nm. In Chapter 5, we have compared the preparation techniques for silica nano test tube fabrication from alumina templates and then illustrated the response of breast carcinoma cells to test tubes that have been biochemically modified. Defect-free uniform silica nano test tubes were obtained by the surface sol-gel method. These test tubes were differentially modified with a fluorophore on the inner surface and with an antibody (target or control) on the outer surface for the cell incubation studies. The fluorescence data suggest that the tubes modified with the target antibody attaches much more readily to the cell membrane surfaces than the tubes modified with the control antibody. Chapter 6 summarizes the results and conclusions of this research.