Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ensinger

Working area(s)

Material Analysis

Contact

work +49 6151 16-21992

Work L2|01 255
Alarich-Weiss-Straße 2
64287 Darmstadt

Links

In a biomimetic approach based on the example of nanopores of cells in a hybrid system, the methodology used combines robust plastic films that contain nanochannels with molecular ligands immobilized in them for sensoring biomolecules. The micrometer-thick and therefore easy to handle polyester films contain either cylindrical nanochannels with diameters in the range of a few tens of nanometers or conical ones, in which the large openings are in the range of a few hundred nanometers and the small ones in a few nanometers. The inner walls of the nanochannels are chemically modified or functionalized so that they react specifically with (bio) molecules. This reaction influences the electrochemical behavior of the nanochannels. The polymer films are located in an electrochemical double cell, the two halves of which are separated by the films, so that the electrolyte transport can be measured. This is influenced by the presence and the amount of the analyte molecule, so that a specific sensor, depending on the system, is highly selective and sensitive. For example, phosphoproteins or stereoselectively amino acids were measured quantitatively.