This project focused on the growth of Cu2O
nanocubes in microwells from nanoparticle
“seeds.” The seeds were first formed by the
reduction of copper sulfate with ascorbic
acid in the presence of the surfactant
poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). Upon reaction
within the microwell, the seed solution
formed a larger single crystal....
In this study attention was focused on a
templated fabrication of Au nanotubular
structures that could carry a highly magnetic
entity such as cobalt. In brief, experimentation
was performed to create Co@Au
core-shell nanorods of different lengths. The
preliminary core-shell structures were first
characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD),
scanning electron...
The purpose of this study was to select an
alloy with a low driving force for nucleation
for a more in-depth study of the nucleation
of γ’-precipitates. To do this, three Ni-Cr-Al
alloys were chosen close to the solvus line
of a Ni-Cr-Al phase diagram, ensuring low
supersaturation and therefore...
In this study liquid-phase nanolithography
(LPN) techniques using conductive atomic
force microscopy are investigated in order
to study properties of nano-patterned
organic molecules covalently bound to a
silicon substrate. Previous work has shown
that LPN in the inert organic solvent hexadecane
forms patterned features on
hydrogen-passivated Si(111). Due to hexadecane’s...
Monolayers on H-Si(111) were formed thermally
using decene and 10-bromodecene.
Samples were subjected to 100 percent
humidity in order to induce oxidation for
upwards of three weeks. The ability of
bromine to bind to the Si(111) and inhibit
oxidation through steric hindrance was
intended to be analyzed. Atomic force
microscopy...
The intention of this research was to investigate
the ink diffusion that takes place in
dip-pen nanolithography in order to better
understand how to enhance the possibilities
of nano fountain probes. Varying concentrations
of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid in
ethanol were used as ink in dip-pen nanolithography,
and the relationships between
contact...
This report describes the development of
bioorganic small-molecule complexes for the
directed assembly of functional nanomaterials.
In particular, it examines the synthesis of
small acetylene-based organic precursors for
attaching DNA to form DNA/organic hybrids.
This work continues previous studies
demonstrating how DNA/polymer hybrid
composites have sharper melting points than
DNA...
The bio-barcode assay is a nanotechnology-based
method for capturing and
detecting proteins. It shows extraordinary
sensitivity in detecting certain antigens at
extremely low concentrations, now without
the use of the polymerase chain reaction
(PCR). This assay uses disease identification
biomarkers that cannot be used in the
conventional assays of today....
Weak interactions in ligand-receptor
pairs are important in biological systems.
However, the energetics of these interactions
are often difficult to quantify for ligandreceptor
pairs. Weak interactions are a part
of reorganization energy, which plays a role
in electron transfer reactions. Under certain
conditions the rate of electron transfer
can be...
In this experiment, the optical properties
of several spherical nanoparticles were
observed. Particles were modeled using
Mie theory, a set of equations that calculate
the extinction coefficient of virtually any
spherical particle. Initially this theory was
used to model solid particles made of noble
metals. As time passed, its scope...
This work exploits the use of noble metal
nanoparticles to achieve sensitive and
selective detection of chemical and
biological analytes. The localized surface
plasmon resonance (LSPR) of these metal
nanoparticles is known to be sensitive to
shape, size, and the local environment.
Ag nanoparticles fabricated using the
nanosphere lithography (NSL)...
In this study, ligands modified to contain
a metal ion were synthesized and their
electrochemical properties were examined
alone and in the presence of a protein. We
chose to use avidin and biotin as a model
system. Probes have been developed in
which biotin is modified to coordinate to
a...
This project involved the study of Brownian
motion of polystyrene microspheres in the
presence of gravity and a one-dimensional
sinusoidal optical potential generated by
the interference of two laser beams. An
exponential relationship was observed
between applied laser power and particle
residence time of individual interference
fringes. Increasing laser power...
The aim of this research was to investigate
the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM)
for the high-resolution imaging of collagen
fibers in aqueous media. Collagen plays a
vital role in many processes in vivo, especially
in structural integrity, yet few studies
have used AFM to investigate the structure
of...
Many studies have focused on harnessing
the extraordinary optical properties of
noble metal nanoparticles for the development
of biological and chemical nanosensors.
Metallic nanoparticles emulate
surface roughness, facilitating the coupling
of light to surface plasmon polaritons. The
excitation of the plasmons enhances the
electromagnetic field near the surface so
that...
The need to improve sensing technology for
widespread application in everyday life is
fueling the development of diffraction-based
sensing, an optical sensing technique.
Selectivity and sensitivity issues must first
be resolved. Both selectivity and sensitivity
can be increased by using resonance conditions
— that is, using a probe wavelength
where...
The use of a variable resistor-capacitor
(RC) bridge circuit was previously reported
to be a viable solution to the spurious
contribution of fringe capacitance during
nanoscale impedance microscopy (NIM).
In this paper, a refinement of this technique
combined with standard NIM is presented
as an impedance characterization tool for
organic...
The effects of volumetric size-control
techniques on the photoinduced conversion
of silver colloids to triangular nanoprisms
were examined. It was hoped that through
the application of size-control techniques
on photocatalyzed reactions, a new method
of controlling particle dimensions could
be established. Initial work focused on
optimizing the synthesis procedure in...
Oligonucleotide-functionalized gold
nanoparticles (DNA-Au NPs) find
ubiquitous use in various biomolecular
detection schemes due to their unique
chemical and physical properties. This
study investigates the effects of nanoparticle
size and concentration of salt in
solution on the DNA loading of the Au NP
surface. The DNA loading studies are
performed...
Second harmonic generation (SHG),
a nonlinear optical tool, was used to
characterize DNA bound through a
chemical linker to the flat surface of a
hemispherical lens. Contact angle
measurements were used to guarantee
that the chemical linker did not hydrolyze
under experimental conditions. SHG
experiments followed the effects of salt...