Microchameleons: Nonlinear chemical microsystems for amplification and sensing

In biological systems, the coupling of nonlinear biochemical kinetics and molecular transport enables functional sensing and “signal” amplification across many length scales. Drawing on biological inspiration, we describe how artificial reaction-diffusion (RD) microsystems can provide a basis for se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2006-09, Vol.16 (3), p.037102-037102
Main Authors: Bishop, K. J. M., Gray, T. P., Fialkowski, M., Grzybowski, B. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absorption
Biochemistry - methods
Biophysics - methods
Biosensing Techniques
Diffusion
Electrochemistry - methods
Humans
Kinetics
Microchemistry - methods
Models, Biological
Models, Theoretical
Nonlinear Dynamics
Physics - methods
Surface Properties
Temperature
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Summary:In biological systems, the coupling of nonlinear biochemical kinetics and molecular transport enables functional sensing and “signal” amplification across many length scales. Drawing on biological inspiration, we describe how artificial reaction-diffusion (RD) microsystems can provide a basis for sensing applications, capable of amplifying micro- and nanoscopic events into macroscopic visual readouts. The RD applications reviewed here are based on a novel experimental technique, WETS for Wet Stamping, which offers unprecedented control over RD processes in microscopic and complex geometries. It is discussed how RD can be used to sense subtle differences in the thickness and/or absorptivity of thin absorptive films, amplify macromolecular phase transitions, detect the presence and quality of self-assembled monolayers, and provide dynamic spatiotemporal readouts of chemical “metabolites.”
ISSN:1054-1500
1089-7682
DOI:10.1063/1.2240142