Nanohair structure and an application therefor

Abstract

There is provided a nanohair structure with the nanowires exposed on a nanotemplate; the method thereof; and a three-dimensional nanostructure-based sensor with ultra-sensitivity and greatly increased three-dimensional surface-to-volume ratio which immobilizes bio-nanoparticles to the nanohair structure and arranges antibodies to the nano surface with the controlled orientation by physical interaction.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A nanohair structure comprising:
 (a) a nanotemplate comprising a plurality of pores;   (b) a plurality of nanowires grown through the pores of the nanotemplate, wherein one portion of the nanowires is embedded inside the nanotemplate, while the other portion of the nanowires is exposed vertically on top of the surface of the nanotemplate and the exposed portion has a regular height; and   (c) a probe for detecting a target material which is immobilized to the exposed portion of the nanowires.   
     
     
         2 . The nanohair structure of  claim 1 , wherein the nanowire is derived from a metal ion selected from the group consisting of Ni, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, and an alloy thereof, an oxide thereof, a nitride thereof, and a carbide thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The nanohair structure of  claim 1 , wherein the nanotemplate is anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) or poly-carbonate membrane. 
     
     
         4 . The nanohair structure of  claim 1 , wherein the nanowire is derived from electrically conductive polymer. 
     
     
         5 . A method of producing the nanohair structure comprising,
 a) preparing a nanotemplate with a plurality of pores;   b) generating electrode layer on one side of the nanotemplate;   c) putting the nanotemplate into the solution containing the metal ion and growing the metal nanowire through pores of the nanotemplate by electrodeposition employing it as a cathode;   d) planarizing the metal nanowire through a process of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP);   e) selectively reactive ion etching (RIE) of the nanotemplate; and   f) immobilizing a probe for detecting a target material to the metal nanowire.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the thickness of the layer of step b) is 250 to 350 nm. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the metal ion is selected from the group consisting of Ni, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt ion. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the method comprises the step of modifying the exposed part of the nanohair into oxide, nitride or carbide of metal or alloy thereof through post-treatment process of oxidation, nitrification or carburization of the exposed part after preparing the nanohair structure between step e) and step f). 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the nanotemplate is anodized aluminum oxide or poly-carbonate membrane. 
     
     
         10 . The nanohair structure of  claim 1 , wherein the probe is a HBV-derived chimeric protein. 
     
     
         11 . The nanohair structure of  claim 1 , wherein the probe comprises an antibody which recognizes a specific disease marker. 
     
     
         12 . The nanohair structure of  claim 11 , wherein the specific disease marker is Troponin I. 
     
     
         13 . A nanowire-based electrode comprising the nanohair structure of  claim 1 .