Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 8.6
Vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNFs). (Left) A scanning
electron micrograph of an individual isolated VACNF. (Center) A random forest of
VACNFs grown from an unpatterned catalyst. (Right) A deterministic array of
VACNFs grown from lithographically defined catalyst dots.
microscale and larger structures. VACNF location, shape, length, tip diameter,
and, to some extent, chemical composition can be controlled by selection of sub-
strate or plasma growth conditions [43-46]. Standard lithographic and micro-
fabrication techniques have been used to incorporate VACNFs into microscale
structures to provide individual addressability, electrochemical passivation, and
the activation of discrete nanoscale electrochemically active areas at the tips or
along defined lengths of each independent element (Figure 8.7) [25].
Of importance for the types of hybrid systems envisioned here, VACNFs
provide the potential for the realization of molecular-scale informational and
structural interfaces to cells or cellular communities. As an example, we have
recently demonstrated that periodic arrays of VACNFs may be implemented for
biochemical manipulation within the intracellular, and even nuclear, domains of
mammalian cellular matrices [42]. By modifying the surface of nanofibers with
Figure 8.7
Standard microfabrication techniques were used to incorporate vertically
aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNFs) into microscale structures to provide individual
addressability, electrochemical passivation, and the activation of discrete nanoscale
electrochemically active areas at the tips.
