Prof. Nurit Ashkenasy - Research Group

Single crystals, patterned at the micro- and nano-meter scale, are important components in various electronic, sensory, and optical devices. Inspired by biomineralization processes, we study the possibility to use peptides for the alignment of inorganic materials in functional device configurations, and, at the same time, for modulating their electronic properties. To this aim we use peptide sequences that were recently identified using biological libraries to specifically interact with corresponding inorganic compounds. Thus, we have designed peptides with affinities to two different inorganic materials and utilized them as single-layer linkers for the deposition and patterning of corresponding nanoparticles. Attachment and spatial organization of the nano-crystals on solid support was accomplished by patterning the peptides using soft lithography techniques. The great feasibility of the developed patterning processes for use in microelectronic and nanoelectronic applications was demonstrated by the choice of two technologically important nanoparticle systems: carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and gold colloids, which were deposited on silica surfaces. The flexibility of this methodology has allowed the formation of novel multi-nanoparticles patterns of both the CNTs and gold colloids on the same substrate. Details of this techniques are presented in a paper in Nanotechnology.