Phosphate and cell growth on nanostructured semiconductors

摘要

About 6 years ago, investigations were published which showed that if silicon was in a porous form then intense red and orange light could be emitted when the material was illuminated [1]. Such nanoporous silicon (PS) is produced by electrochemical etching of a wafer surface until only wires a few nanometres across remain. It is now possible to produce photo- and electro-luminescence (PL and EL, respectively) over the whole of the spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet, a phenomenon widely thought to be a result of quantum confinement [1]. It has recently been reported [2-7] that this remarkable material may also have a role in biological applications, in particular in implants and sensors. Canharn [8] describes the growth of calcium phosphates on a low-porosity silicon substrate when such substrates are exposed to simulated body plasma. PS-based potentiometric sensors for penicillin have also been reported which used oxidized PS as a substrate [9]; silicon-based biosensors for in-situ monitoring have also been developed recently [10]. Very recently a study on growth of mouse fibroblast on microstruc-tured silicon [11] has shown the potential for single-cell technologies.