Interfacing Biomolecules, Cells and Tissues with Nanowire-based Electrical Devices - Applications of Electrochemistry and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine - page 68

bulk phase. Since dimensionality plays a critical role in determin-
ing the qualities of matters, the realization of the great potential of
nanoscale science and technology has opened the door to other
disciplines such as life sciences and medicine, where the interface
between them offers exciting new applications along with basic
science research. The application of nanotechnology in life scienc-
es, nanobiotechnology, is already having an impact on sensing,
diagnostics and drug delivery. Several nanostructures have been
reported for this task, including nanoparticles, 3 carbon nanotubes 6
and nanowires. 7 Inorganic nanowires, nanocrystals and carbon
nanotubes exhibit unique electrical, optical and magnetic proper-
ties that can be exploited for sensing and imaging. 7 Advances in
nanoscale materials have enabled to construct electronic circuits in
which the component parts are comparable in size to the biological
and chemical entities being sensed, therefore represent excellent
primary transducers for producing signals that ultimately interface
to macroscopic instruments. The ability to transduce chemi-
cal/biological binding events into electronic/digital signals sug-
gests the potential for highly sophisticated interface between nano-
electronic and biological information processing systems.
Specifically, semiconducting nanowires are emerging as re-
markably powerful building blocks in nanoscience, with the poten-
tial to have a significant impact on numerous areas of science and
technology. Critical to the advances now being made worldwide
with nanowires has been the well-developed understanding of
nanowires growth mechanism, which has enabled the reproducible
synthesis of nanowires of homogenous composition and diameter
with controllable electronic and optical properties. Nowadays,
semiconductor nanowires can be rationally and predictably con-
trolled with all key parameters, including diameter, length, chemical
composition and doping/electronic properties 8,9 with the ability to
integrate arrays of discrete elements. Significantly, these character-
istics make semiconductor nanowires one of the best defined and
most versatile nanomaterial systems available today, thus enabling
scientists to move beyond device proof-of-concept studies to the
exploration of new areas of science and technology.
During the last decade nanowire-based electronic devices
emerged as a powerful and universal platform, demonstrating key
advantages such as rapid, direct, highly sensitive multiplexed de-