Inventors:
Henry S White - Salt Lake City UT, US
Bo Zhang - Salt Lake City UT, US
Ryan J White - Salt Lake City UT, US
Eric N Ervin - Salt Lake City UT, US
Gangli Wang - Salt Lake City UT, US
Assignee:
University of Utah Research Foundation - Salt Lake City UT
International Classification:
G01N 27/333, G01N 27/40, C25B 13/02, C25B 13/04
US Classification:
204420, 204295, 204296, 20440306, 20440307, 204601, 204605, 204622, 204625, 204632, 204638, 204639
Abstract:
Provided are fabrication, characterization and application of a nanodisk electrode, a nanopore electrode and a nanopore membrane. These three nanostructures share common fabrication steps. In one embodiment, the fabrication of a disk electrode involves sealing a sharpened internal signal transduction element (“ISTE”) into a substrate, followed by polishing of the substrate until a nanometer-sized disk of the ISTE is exposed. The fabrication of a nanopore electrode is accomplished by etching the nanodisk electrode to create a pore in the substrate, with the remaining ISTE comprising the pore base. Complete removal of the ISTE yields a nanopore membrane, in which a conical shaped pore is embedded in a thin membrane of the substrate.